The Batman
by ThePurpleArcher24
Summary: After missing for twelve years, Bruce Wayne has returned home. His city is no longer the city he remembers. It now belongs to the criminals and the corrupt in office. In order to take back his city Bruce takes up the mantle of 'The Batman' to battle these threats along with the incoming invasion of Ra's Al Ghul and his League of Assassins. (Set on Earth 60)
1. The Story Begins

**Whelp... here it finally is everyone, I was going to wait until I had the full story completed but I didn't want to keep everyone who had agreed to be apart of the Universe so I'm going to start uploading so here is the very first chapter. The story takes place in the year 2016 on Earth 60.  
**

 _The Wayne Family exited the Monarch Theater with their young son Bruce in front of them, as they walked Bruce picked up a stick and began to act as if he was fighting invisible enemies._

" _Don't go to far Bruce, stay were we can see you" Martha called out to her son when she saw him get a little too far for her liking._

" _Let him be Martha, he's fine" Thomas said smiling at the sight of her before him._

 _He placed his arm over his wife's shoulders and pulled her close to him so she wrapped her arm around his waist. As they walked Thomas lifted his arm to check his watch, when he was finished he called out to his son._

" _Bruce, this way" he said then motioned for Bruce to follow them as he and Martha started to cross the street. They crossed the street and entered the first alleyway they came upon._

 _Bruce who was still ahead of his parents turned around to face them with a huge smile on his face. Seeing the smiles on his parent's faces gave him warmth but suddenly that warm feeling went away when he felt his back hit something hard. Seeing the look on his parent's faces scared Bruce so he stepped forward before turning around slowly. Standing before him was a man, his face was barely visible due to the shadows covering his face due to the night sky but the only thing clearly visible was the man's crooked nose._

 _The man raised his hand up to reveal that he was holding a pistol, which he pointed at Bruce and his parents._

" _Just hand over the cash and pearl necklace, do that and no one gets hurt" the man said._

 _Thomas put his hand up in front of him before slowly reaching into his pocket located on the inside of his coat. The man watched as Thomas pulled out his wallet but became annoyed at the slow pace that Thomas was moving._

" _Come on Faster…. I ain't got all day," the man snarled._

 _The sound of police sirens could be heard._

" _Damn it" the man growled before he pointed his gun._

 _BANG!_

 _BANG!_

Bruce jolted awake. He could feel the sweat dripping all over his body so he slowly sat up. Swung his legs over and placed his feet on the ground. He closed his eyes and shook his head before standing up. He made his way to the bathroom located on the far end of his quarters. Turns on the water in the shower and then steps inside. He allows the water to hit his body as he stands there. The warm water kept Bruce awake. He had no plans of going back to sleep tonight, he didn't want to experience the nightmares anymore. Bruce had his eyes closed but he didn't need them to know that someone was attempting to enter the shower behind him. He didn't even attempt to stop the pair of arms that were wrapping themselves around his waist. He didn't even need to listen to the sound of the other's breathing to know that the person who the arms belonged to was none other than Talia Al Ghul. The daughter of Ra's Al Ghul, the Head of the Demon and leader of the League of Assassins.

"The nightmare again wasn't it?" Talia asked softly as she placed her head against Bruce's bare back.

Bruce didn't respond, she knew the answer already. He had confided in her about the nightmares his first night in Nanda Parbat.

"Every time I close my eyes I see them die over and over again. It pains me knowing that I can't do anything to save them and it's all my fault" Bruce mutters before turning around to face Talia.

She reaches up and places her hand on the side of Bruce's face making him finally open his eyes and look at her.

"That's the reason you found the League, so we could help you overcome your nightmares" Talia said before reaching up and pressing her lips to his.

"I came here so I could find my purpose in this world" Bruce replied as he pulled away.

Talia smiles then leans forward.

"My father wishes to speak with you" she says as she pulls away and opens the shower door.

As she takes a step out of the shower, Bruce pulls her back in.

"He can wait." Bruce replies as he shuts the shower door and pulls her back into his arms.

(!)

Bruce followed Talia down the hall towards the throne room. Once they enter Bruce saw that Ra's wasn't alone. A group of Ra's loyal men stood off to both sides of the entranceway. Once they reached the middle of the room that's when Talia motioned for Bruce to stop before she walked over and took her position at her father's side.

"Thank you for joining us Bruce" Ra's said.

Bruce dropped to one knee and bowed his head.

"Rise my boy" Ra's says as he gets to his feet.

He watches as Bruce gets to his feet before walking over and taking a stand in front of the only window in the room. Ra's stares out the window,

"I saw a lot of me in you when you first arrived at the temple nine years ago after my daughter saved you from dying out in the desert" Ra's said before turning around to face Bruce.

Bruce thought back to the day in question, he had traveled to Nanda Parbat after hearing about a man who helped people find their place in the world after they had lost faith in themselves. He had gotten stranded while traveling through the desert and would have passed out from exhaustion if Talia, who was riding a horse hadn't come riding by. She pulled Bruce up onto the horse then brought him back to the temple. Ra's wasn't pleased with Talia at first for bringing a stranger to the temple but once Bruce had awoken and gotten some food into him, Ra's questioning of Bruce changed his tune about the man being there.

"You have completed every task that I have put before you" Ra's says.

Talia sent Bruce a smile.

"Because of that, I believe you are ready to take the next step before achieving your place in this world" Ra's said.

"What do you wish of me?" Bruce asked.

"To destroy Gotham City" Ra's replied with calmness.

Bruce's eyes widen in shock at what he had just learned. The man he considered a mentor was now telling him that he had to destroy his city, the city he was born and raised in.

"It is fitting that city is destroyed by it's very own son" Ra's said.

Bruce didn't say anything, he thought back to everyone he had left back in the city. Alfred, then there was Leslie Tompkins who had comforted him during his parents funeral and lastly his best friend Ethan Bennett who is probably living his dream as a GCPD officer. Their faces flashed through Bruce's mind and that's when he knew he was going to have to make difficult decision. He lifted his head to look at Ra's and spoke.

"I won't," he said.

Ra's stared at the young Wayne before him with a look of disapproval and shame.

"Then you will die" Ra's said before nodding to one of his men before he left the room with Talia right behind him.

Bruce turned his head to see that the assassins were moving around so that he was surrounded in a circle. He had seen this technique before, they had used this back when Bruce had begun his training and it had worked then but he was about to prove that it wouldn't a second time. The assassin to Bruce's left leapt at him but Bruce was ready as he caught him and flung him over his shoulder directly into some of the others. He pulled out his sword hanging on his belt. He twirled it around in his hand before getting into a fighting stance.

Neither Bruce nor the Assassins moved as he scanned the room. Looking for a way out of the situation. Two of the assassins ran at Bruce who quickly brought his sword up and blocked their attack then turned around just in time to deflect another assassin's blade. He ducked under the assassin's arm but brought his hand up and placed it over the assassin's mouth then flips the assassin backwards making them both land back first on the ground. He stands but just as he does his sword is knocked out of his hand by an arrow. He looks up to see an assassin standing up by Ra's throne pointing an arrow at him.

Bruce didn't know what to do, he was outnumbered but suddenly he became confused when the assassins lowered their weapons. He looked around only to stop when he felt a presence behind him so he slowly turned around only to come face to face with one of Ra's top assassins. His name was Ben Turner a.k.a. The Bronze Tiger. Turner smirked at Bruce then raised his left arm up into the air to showoff his weapon of choice which happened to be bronze brass knuckles with three blades attached to it.

"So what it's going to be rich boy? Quick and painless or…." Turner started to say but a hard right hook from Bruce cut him off making the more seasoned assassin stumble backwards, but barely.

Turner turned his head to look at Bruce with a smirk on his face.

"So that's how it's going to be? Full of pain?" Turner growls then steps forward when suddenly a figure comes crashing through the window.

The figure quickly gets up and fires off multiple arrows in succession taking down five of the assassins. They quickly turn and catch the arrow fired at them by the archer standing by Ra's throne which they throw back hitting the archer in the chest killing him.

Meanwhile Bruce dodges Turner's attack as he grabs Tiger's arm and leaps up and takes the seasoned assassin down with a head scissors sending Turner flying to the ground. Bruce gets to his feet then turns to see his mysterious savior standing next to him. He tried to get a look at the person under the hood but all he saw were their eyes.

"Who are you?" Bruce asked.

"No time to talk, move!" the hooded person said with a feminine voice.

Bruce heard the woman's voice so he tired to look closer to see if it was Talia under the hood, but before he could get close enough, the hooded woman pushed him towards the window. She pulled out an arrow then fired it off hitting an assassin that was running towards them. The hooded woman ran over and picked up the bow of the dead League member and handed it to Bruce before climbing out the window.

"LET'S GO!" she shouted when she realized that Bruce hadn't followed her.

She turned her head to see Bruce climb out the window. She points up to a zip line that is attached to the building leading down to the mountain across from the palace.

Bruce didn't seem to want to argue with the woman who had just saved his life so he reached his arm with the bow up and placed the middle of the bow on the zip line. He hesitates for a brief moment but apparently he was moving too slow as the woman shoved him hard in the back pushing him towards the mountain.

The woman turned so she was facing the window, she pulls out an arrow then fires it through the window hitting some barrels. She turns then leaps attaching her bow to the zip-line, she slides down just as an explosion happens. As she zips down the line, she sees Bruce still standing there waiting for her so she releases her hold on her bow a few feet away from the end of the line landing next to him.

"Who are you and why did you save me?" he asks her.

"Who I am is none of your concern and the reason I saved you is because you're different from the others, you see that the Demon's plans are just as insane as he is and you have the means to defeat him" she replied as she started walking away.

"Where are you taking me?" he asked.

She stopped and turned her head to look at him.

"To your transportation home" she said.

(!)

The woman led Bruce into a small village. He didn't see how they were going to find any transportation that would be able to bring him home. Bruce was currently standing out side a small shop that the woman had entered. She needed to change her clothes to blend in with the locals. When she emerged he saw that she was wearing a long flock and shalwar with a headscarf, with a piece of the scarf covering her face so as to not be seen. Bruce on the other hand was no longer wearing his League of Assassins clothing as he too had changed. He was now wearing a long jama that went down to the heels, a loose shalwar, and a long chadar with shoes that narrowed at the toe.

"Okay now where to?" he asked her.

"This way" she replied then the two started to walk.

As they walked Bruce would occasionally glance over at his companion, trying to figure out if he could get a vibe off of her but had no luck.

"Were you a member of the League?" he asked trying to make conversation as they walked.

The woman looked over at him but said nothing, which sort of gave Bruce an answer.

"Yes, since I was born" she replied.

"So you were born into the League…." He started to say.

"Enough questions" she snapped.

Bruce put his hands up in defense then the two continued to walk in silence, as they walked Bruce looked around at his surroundings. He saw the small children sitting on the ground playing with small dolls while the parents stood off to the side talking amongst themselves **.** He saw them stealing glances in his direction. He understood what they were doing, and it was because he was a foreigner in their village. If he were in their shoes, he would most likely do the same if they were in Gotham. So instead of trying to attract attention he turned his head to face forwards.

"So how did you secure transport?" he asked as they walked.

The woman let out a small groan of annoyance at being asked a question despite having told him that she wouldn't answer anymore.

"I'm just curious considering social customs in Pakistan," he added.

She spun on her heel to face him.

"I am well aware of the social customs here…." She started to say but stopped. She took a deep breath before speaking again.

"You don't have anything to fear Mister Wayne, I have everything under control" she replied in a calm manner before turning and walking off again making Bruce jog to catch up with her.

(!)

Apparently she did have everything under control, because when they had reached their destination that's when Bruce saw a lone plane waiting for them. He also saw a small group people waiting for them near the plane. As they drew nearer that's when Bruce noticed that they were all wearing modified versions of the League of Assassins gear. Instead of the all black attire worn by Ra's' loyal guards, their attire was still black but had a golden pattern on the gauntlets, shoulder pads and boots.

"There is your transportation Mister Wayne, I understand you did take some flying lessons during your travels?" the woman said dryly as she turned her head to look at Bruce.

The young Wayne opened his mouth to speak only to stop when one of the woman's people stepped forward.

"My lady, we must leave if we are to…" the assassin started to say only stop when he noticed Bruce still standing there.

"It is quite alright Saracon, we will be leaving soon," the woman said.

The assassin known as Saracon gave Bruce a hard look before turning on his heels to walk back over to where the others were standing, waiting for the woman who was apparently their leader.

"I hope you have safe travel back to your city Mister Wayne. For I promise you that Ra's Al Ghul is not a man to be taken lightly and he will bring war to your city, you better be ready" she said then motioned for her people to follow her as she walked away leaving Bruce standing there.

Bruce turned his head to look at the plane, it wasn't great but hopefully it would be good enough to get him to Gotham City or somewhere near there so that he could try to contact Alfred. He walked over and grabbed the handle to the door of the plane. He pulled it open then pulled the steps down, he went to step up on the first step only to stop as he got a feeling that someone was watching him. He turned his head to look over his shoulder but saw one there. Normally Bruce would just ignore the feeling and continue on his way but with his League training and all the other training he has received during his travels, he knew it wasn't something to be ignored.

He bent down pretending to fix his shoe then slowly reached his hand up his sleeve where he was still wearing the gauntlets he had from the league but that's not what he was reaching for. Instead he was reaching for the throwing stars he had attached to them. He didn't move then suddenly he heard some rustling coming from the left of him so he spun and flung three of the throwing stars. The sound of a groan could be heard so Bruce stood up from his crouched position and then made his way over to the were the groan had come from. Bruce made his way through the tall grass, when he reached the location of the groan.

Bruce's eyes narrowed when he saw a League of Assassin member lying on the ground holding his arm and wincing in pain. Bruce walked over so that he was standing next to the assassin before crouching down near him.

"When you get back to Ra's I want you to give a message to him, tell him that I'll be waiting for him" Bruce said before standing up. He turned to leave only to stop when the assassin spoke.

"Ra's Al Ghul will burn your pathetic city to ashes…" Bruce instantly became unnerved and knocked the assassin out with kick to the face.

Bruce walked out of the grass then made his way towards the plane. He climbed the steps then pulled them up before shutting the door. He climbed into the pilot's seat and looked at the controls. The key was in the ignition, all he had to do was turn it on. He reached for the button that he thought was the correct one.

"That's not it" came a voice from behind him making his head snap around.

Standing there was a man wearing the black armor with the gold design on it, meaning he was member of the group that Saracon was apart of.

"I'm here as an ally not an enemy, my mistress sent me to help in anyway possible" the man replied.

Bruce stared at him but said nothing, he didn't know if the man was telling the truth or not but Bruce also knew that he was going to need help getting back to Gotham.

"I have no practice with flying this plane, do you?" he asked.

"Yes, before I joined my mistress, I was a pilot" the man said.

Bruce nodded his head then slid over into the co-pilot seat and motioned for the man to take the pilot seat, which he did.

(!)

Bruce must've dozed off for a brief moment because he jerked awake when the plane shook. He looked around to find that it was now night, but that's not what caught him off the guard. He turned his head towards the pilot only to see that he was missing from the pilot's seat. Bruce turned his head to the back of the plane and that's where he saw the pilot pulling on a parachute. Bruce jumped up from his seat and made his way quickly to the back as fast as he could, but before he could reach the pilot, the man had pushed open the door of the plane and jumped out leaving Bruce standing there.

He let out a small growl then looked down and a sigh of relief escaped his lips when he saw a second parachute lying on the ground. Picking the parachute up quickly he slipped it on then made his way to the door but as he drew near to the door that's when the plane shook again causing Bruce to loose his footing and fall out of the plane.

Bruce fell through the air backwards so using his body he spun around so he was falling face first. As he fell he could see the pilot directly below him, so he brought his arms to his sides and shot downwards towards the man who tried to kill him. He crashed onto the back of the man taking the pilot off guard, the two men struggled and spinning for a brief moment before Bruce was able to wrap his arms around the man's upper body trapping his arms to the man's sides.

"You're not from the group that saved me from the temple are you?" Bruce shouted into the man's ear.

"You are a traitor to the League of Assassins and you will die before you can reach home," the man shouted in reply revealing that he was loyal to Ra's Al Ghul.

The man attempted to break free but Bruce kept a vice like grip on him so the man brought his left leg up and pulled out a small knife that was hidden in his boot. He brought his arm up and stabbed Bruce in the arm making the young Wayne let out a growl before releasing his hold on the pilot who continue to fall. The assassin pulled the string on his pack release the parachute inside and floated down to the land below him.

Bruce wasn't about to let the man escape so he reached his hand up and pulled the string on his pack as well releasing his parachute. When Bruce landed, the parachute fell over him so he quickly pushed it off but that only allowed the assassin more time to free himself from his own pack as he started running towards Bruce who was having trouble freeing himself from the pack. The assassin leapt into the air and tackled Bruce to the ground. He brought the knife up and brought it down but Bruce moved his head just barely only getting a flesh wound on the side of his head.

The assassin brought the knife up again but before he could bring it down he was struck in the chest by an arrow. Bruce pushed the assassin off of him and turned his head just in time to see a sword behind pointed directly at his throat. His eyes traveled upwards to see that the person pointing the weapon at him was a woman who was wearing Greek armor.

"Wait… Wait" he says holding his hands up in the air.

"Silence man," the woman growled.

The sound of horses could be heard so Bruce turned his head to look behind the woman to see even more women all clad in Greek armor coming towards them. The woman leading the charge wasn't wearing armor like the others, she was wearing a white toga with a golden medal up on her right shoulder and a silver crown rested on her head.

"Artemis stand down" the woman with the crown said as she came to a stop. She climbed down from her horse and made her way over to where Bruce was still on his knees.

"Who are you?" the woman in white asked.

"My name is Bruce Wayne" Bruce replied.

"My name Hippolyta and I am queen here" the woman said.

"Where is here?" Bruce asked.

Hippolyta's face darkens slightly before speaking.

"Themyscira."

 **Okay so there is the very first chapter, I hope you enjoyed it and if you did then please favorite/follow and leave a review. See you next Monday for Chapter 2.**


	2. A Minor Setback

**Here is the second chapter, I want to thank everyone who has favorite, followed and reviewed the story. Now I have upload this chapter, Maleficent-darkgoodwitch2416 will now start uploading Wonder Woman so you should go and check that out once it starts because it is apart of the same Universe as The Batman. Also Superman: Last Son by Kryptonis should be coming soon too. So make sure you are following the DC Universe Earth 60 Community so you will be able to read every story in the DC Earth 60 Universe.  
**

Bruce sat up against the wall in the holding cell that the Amazons placed him in. He needed to get out of the cell and off Themyscria because he needed to get home before Ra's arrived. His head shot up when he hears footsteps coming in the direction of his cell, he turns his head to see Queen Hippolyta making her way towards him. Bruce turned away so as to not make eye contact with her.

"Why did you come to this island?" she asked as she reached his cell door.

"Crash landing on your island wasn't my intention, the man who one of your Amazons killed…" he let out a small chuckle.

"What is so funny?" she asked him.

"When I was seven I remember reading about Amazons and anything to do with Greek Mythology and now 21 years later I come to find out that Amazons are real" he replies.

Queen Hippolyta didn't share his amusement.

"Anyway, the one you called Artemis, the man she killed was attempting to kill me" Bruce replied.

"Why?" she asked.

"He was sent by a very powerful man to stop me from returning home because he wants to destroy my home and I need to get back or everyone in the city will die" Bruce said as he slowly got to his feet.

"How do I know you're not lying?" Queen Hippolyta asked.

Bruce turned his head to finally look the queen straight in her eyes.

"The man who wants to destroy my city is a man by the name of Ra's Al Ghul and his life's mission is to cleanse this world in an act of Eco-Terrorism." He said to her sternly.

"And must it be you who stops him? Why not leave it to your city to defend itself" she asked staring right back into his eyes.

"Because like you I must do everything to protect my people and that's why it must be me, because I am the only one cable of doing it," he said to her in a deathly serious voice.

Queen Hippolyta stepped backwards then turned and walked over to the nearest guard. She held out her hand and the guard without hesitation, placed the key in the palm of the queen's hand. Queen Hippolyta turned her attention back to Bruce's cell. She placed the key in the lock and turned it, unlocking the cell door. She handed the key back to the guard then motioned for Bruce to follow her before turning on her heel and walking out the cave where the holding cells were located. She didn't need to turn around to know that Bruce was following her she could hear his footsteps as he walked behind her. He quickly caught up to her so they were walking side by side.

"My guard tells me that you didn't sleep. Why is that if you don't mind me asking" Queen Hippolyta asked as they walked.

"Nightmares" he replied in short not wanting to talk about the situation more then he needed to.

Queen Hippolyta didn't press the matter but she could sense that there was more to the story than the man was telling her. Normally she would press on such matters but she could tell it was something personal so she didn't. They came upon an opening in the woods to reveal the beach that Bruce had crashed onto, it was the same as before except the body of the man who tried to kill Bruce was missing. Another thing that caught Bruce's eye was that there was a small rowboat big enough for one person to operate.

"You're letting me go?" he asked with a small hint of confusion in his voice.

"Normally I would not allow such a thing but I sense you are meant for great things Bruce Wayne and that means I will allow you to leave this island." Queen Hippolyta said.

"What did Artemis mean when she said I wasn't the first man to find the island?" he asked her.

Queen Hippolyta wasn't caught off guard by the question, in fact she had waited for the young man to ask her at some point.

"Years ago, a man by the name of Steve Trevor crashed here and he had claimed that he was fighting in a great war…. At first we didn't believe him so we used one of our many ways to find out the truth only to see that he was telling the truth so we sent him on his way back to Man's World" she replied.

"He didn't go alone did he?" he asked, it wasn't really a question because he could see it in the Queen's eyes that there was more to the story.

"No, but that is not my story to tell, if your quest ever brings you into contact with my daughter Diana, then it will be her story to tell" Hippolyta responded.

She turned to face Bruce who was looking at her. "There is one more thing before you leave, you must swear on the River Styx that you will never tell anyone of the location of the island" Queen Hippolyta said with a deadly serious tone in her voice.

"I swear on the River Styx that I will never tell anyone the location of this island" he responded with a matched seriousness in his voice before starting to make his way down the hill towards the rowboat.

(!)

Bruce had a difficult time navigating the rowboat at first, but eventually he was able to get a handle on things. He tried to remember everything his father had attempted to teach him when the family went on their annual boat trip. Bruce never paid attention to what his father was trying to teach him as he was too busy doing something else. Bruce wasn't sure how far he had traveled from Themyscira but he hoped it was far enough in case someone came by and found him.

Suddenly the sound of yelling could be heard so Bruce stopped rowing and turned his head to see a fisherman boat coming in his direction. He quickly got to his feet and waved his arms hoping to get their attention. To his relief they started to slow down as they drew nearer to him. The boat came a stop next to him and he saw a group of men leaning over the railing looking at him.

"Voce esta perdido Americano?" asked one of the men. _You are lost American?_

Bruce realized the man was speaking Portuguese and responded,

"Sim". _Yes_

The men on the boat looked impressed that Bruce understood them, so one of the men threw a rope ladder over the side of the boat down to Bruce. The young Wayne didn't move from his spot though. He had no reason to trust the fishermen, for all he knew they could be luring him into a trap to kill him but as thought left his mind another one entered. He was most likely going to die trying to get to land by himself on the little rowboat given to him by the Amazons, so he came to the conclusion that he had no choice. He did know that if the fishermen did try anything then he still had the gauntlets from the League and the small knife given to him Hippolyota from the body of the assassin who tried to kill him.

Bruce started to climb and once he reached the top that's when two of the fishermen offered their hands to him, he accepted them and they pulled him onto the boat. A fishermen who appeared in his late teens walked over and handed Bruce a jar of water which Bruce accepted then drank some before handing it back to the boy.

"Longe de casa americano?" asked one of the men. _Away from home American?_

"Sim" Bruce replied. _Yes._

A larger man appeared and from what Bruce could tell he was the captain of the ship.

"Podemos traze-lo de volta ao proto, mas voce esta sozinho, entao" the captain said in a gruff voice. _We can bring you back to port, but from there you are on your own._

"Obrigado" Bruce replied. _Thank You._

(!)

The Fishermen had dropped Bruce off in the city of Porto, which was great for Bruce because he knew that just North of the city was Spain, where an airport was located. He walked along side of the road hoping to catch a ride to Vigo-Peinador Airport, which if Bruce remembered correctly shouldn't be that far out. As Bruce walked, he thought of all the things he needed to do when he returned to Gotham. He had been missing for so long that he was probably declared dead. He knew he was going to have to get that straightened out then work his way back into his family's company Wayne Corp. He shook his head at the name. The name made it sound like it was run by a group of money hungry corporate douchbags who didn't care about the world.

Bruce hoped that wasn't the case although he had never really gotten to know the man who took over the company after Bruce's parents were murdered. His name was William Earle he was present at the funeral for Bruce's parents. He had placed his hand on Bruce's shoulder and told him that he would take good care of the company. Bruce hadn't said anything to him but he got a sense that the man wasn't being entirely truthful to him.

What Bruce did remember was that there was a man who his father trusted with his life and the man's name was Lucius Fox. He hoped that Fox was still working for the company because he felt that someone with Fox's expertise in tech and other gadgets would be a formidable ally for Bruce in defending Gotham.

There was only one other Bruce knew that he could trust. His best friend since first grade, Ethan Bennett. A small smile crossed Bruce's lips as he recalled their first meeting.

 _(Flashback)_

 _Bruce sat on one of the benches outside of Gotham Elementary. He was reading a Sherlock Holmes novel when suddenly he was pushed backwards his backside hitting the ground. He looked up to see Mario Falcone and his thugs looking down at him._

" _Oh did the little Wayne baby fall?" asked Mario sarcastically._

 _Anger swelled up inside of Bruce, as he got back up to his feet and turned to face Mario Falcone and his boys. Bruce stepped forward only for one of Mario's boys to push Bruce backwards to the ground again. Bruce looked up at the boys. He recognized the one who had pushed him his name was Johnny Viti. Johnny was the nephew to Carmine making him a cousin to Mario and Alberto._

" _Leave him alone."_

 _All the boys turned their head to see a boy their age making his way towards them._

" _Stay out of this or you will join Baby Wayne on the ground where you belong" Mario spat towards the newcomer._

 _Ethan shook his head and walked over then stood next to Bruce who was still on the ground._

" _You think cuz your family runs The Bowery that you can treat everyone like dirt?" the boy said with disgust._

 _Johnny steps forward but is stopped by Mario who shakes his head then turns back to face the boy and Bruce with a smirk._

" _Watch yourself Wayne, you too Bennett" Mario said before he and his goons walked off leaving the two boys alone._

 _The boy turned and offered his hand out to Bruce who accepted it allowing the boy to help him to his feet._

" _You alright?" the boy asked._

 _Bruce responded with a nod of his head as he brushed the dirt off his clothes._

" _The name is Ethan," the boy said offering his hand._

" _Bruce" Bruce replied before shaking Ethan's hand._

 _(End Flashback)_

Bruce was brought out of his train of thought by the sound of a truck coming up from behind him. He turned his head to look over his shoulder to see a rusty old truck coming towards him so he held out his thumb hoping to catch a ride to the airport. A sigh of relief left his lips when the truck pulled up in front of him.

Bruce made his way across the airfield towards the large luxury plane. The door to the plane opened and the steps came descending downwards. Alfred appeared in the doorway, a smile appeared on his face when the older man came down the steps and went straight towards Bruce who engulfed him in a large hug. Bruce patted the older man on the back then the two pulled away.

"I'll tell you when you called and told me that you were alive… well I didn't believe it and almost hung up on you but here you are standing before me" Alfred said emotionally.

"Well it's a good thing I had faith that you would believe me" Bruce replied heartfelt.

Alfred reached up and wiped the tears forming in his eyes so Bruce reached his hand over and placed it on his old friend's shoulder before speaking.

"Let's go home."

 **Thanks for read, don't forget to leave a review and see ya next Monday for Chapter 3**


	3. The Return to Gotham

**Whelp, here is Chapter 3 of The Batman, I want to thank everyone who has favorite, followed and reviewed the story so far. I hope you like this chapter cause I'm introducing a future member of the Batfamily in this chapter will be getting their own story down the road.**

 **Also Maleficent-darkgoodwitch2416 has published the prologue to her Wonder Woman story so please go and check that out.**

Bruce looked out the window of his private plane, below was the city of Gotham, the place he had once called home but that was before he had left thirteen years ago. After the death of his parents Bruce left and traveled the word where he met many people, and learned many things about life as well. He was brought out of his thoughts when Alfred cleared his throat causing him turn to face the older man.

"It's good to have you back Bruce but now we have to well…. Declare you are alive" Alfred said.

Bruce didn't respond to the man's words for he kind of figured Alfred had done that since he had been gone for so long. He turned his head back to look out the window just as the plane started to descend down to the runway, he noticed a car waiting for them and a driver standing next to the back door.

As soon as the plane had touched ground Bruce was up and making his way towards the door. He made his way down the steps and entered the car but instead of getting in the backseat, he got into the passenger seat while Alfred got into the driver's seat. Neither person spoke a word as Alfred drove, until they were passing the Gotham Memorial Cemetery that's when Bruce broke the silence.

"Alfred stop and pull over" he said.

Alfred pulled over and turned the car off, Bruce got out of the car he closed the door behind him then started making his way towards the entrance of the cemetery but stopped. He looked over his shoulder to see Alfred standing by the car. Alfred sees him looking and gives him a reassuring smile so Bruce turns back to face the large iron gate then pushes it open and steps inside. He enters the cemetery and makes his way along the dirt pathway going past various headstones until he reaches a large one.

WAYNE

In Loving Memory

THOMAS & MARTHA

He stared at the headstone with a mix of sadness and anger. The sadness was due to the lost of his parents while the anger he felt was aimed at him. Bruce blamed himself for his parents being murdered; he had begged them to bring him to go see the new Grey Ghost movie that had just been released into the theaters.

"You can't blame yourself you know" came a woman's voice from behind him.

Bruce spun around to find a woman standing there.

"Who are you and what do you want?" he asked.

"My name is Nyssa Rattko" the woman replied.

Nyssa walked forward until she was standing next to Bruce shoulder to shoulder with him.

"My reasoning for being here is to inform you that Ra's Al Ghul's coming to Gotham has been put on hold as his attention as been turned towards a group of rebels" she said.

Bruce was about to ask how she could know a thing. She couldn't be a member of the League or she wouldn't have made her presence known to him so that only meant one thing.

"It was you… you were the archer who helped me escape from Nanda Parbat," he said.

A small smirk appeared on Nyssa's lips.

"Very good Mister Wayne, maybe your not as hopeless as my brother thought" she said turning to face him.

The sound of footsteps could be heard coming from the other side of his parents' headstone. This caught Bruce's attention and he turned toward the sound. When he turned back to say something to Nyssa, she was already gone. Her silent disappearance didn't shock him. He did turn back around just in time to see a woman emerge from other side of the headstone.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I thought you were talking to someone cause I could've sworn I heard a woman's voice" she said.

"Sorry to disappoint you but it's just me" Bruce replied.

"I'm not disappointed, in fact I'm relieved to know that I'm not going crazy" the woman replied.

"Well that's good, I was afraid for a second" he said jokingly.

"You sure have jokes Mister…" she started to say.

"Bruce… Bruce Wayne" he replied.

A look of shock came over the woman.

"You are?" he asked with a raised eyebrow and a smirk.

"Andrea…. Andrea Beaumont but I thought you were dead" she replied still in shock.

Bruce let out a chuckle.

"You know, I'm pretty sure that's not the last time I'm going to hear that" he said.

Andrea didn't say anything, she was still in shock at what she had just learned. When she realized that she was just staring at him without saying anything she started to blush profusely. Andrea turned her head to look at the headstone next to her and a look of alarm came over her.

"I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt anything," she said.

Bruce raised an eyebrow in confusion then it hit him.

"No need to apologize, I was just here for a short visit" he said.

"Care to walk me out then?" she asked.

Bruce replied with a nod of his head then the two turned and started making their way down the dirt pathway towards the entrance. They walked side by said in silence, mostly because neither of them knew what to say to the other person. Both were lost in their own thoughts. Bruce was trying to think of way he could take back control of his father's company, meanwhile Andrea on the other hand was trying to fine out a way to make conversation with a person whom the entire world thought was dead.

"Bruce?"

Bruce and Andrea stop and turn to see a woman with short red hair wearing gothic inspired clothing. It took Bruce a few seconds before his eyes widen in realization of who the woman was. It was his cousin Katherine "Kate" Kane. Neither Bruce nor Andrea moved as Kate made her way over to them. What Bruce didn't expect was for Kate to slap him hard across the face. He turned back to face her with a shocked look and his hand on the spot where she had slapped him. He saw that she had a real stern look on her face.

"That's for making me think you were dead for twelve years" She said angrily.

Bruce didn't know why but he chuckled.

"Andrea… this is my cousin Kate, Kate this is Andrea" he said introducing the two women to each other.

"Nice to meet you" they said in unison.

Andrea turned to face Bruce.

"Well Mister Wayne, maybe I'll see you around sometime" she said bemused then walked off in the opposite direction.

Bruce watched as Andrea walked away but when he turned back around to face Kate, whatever expression he had vanished when he saw the smirk on her face. Despite not having seeing his cousin in the thirteen years had that he been gone, he would never forget that smirk.

"All right let me have it Kate," he said.

Kate laughed then slipped her arm around his arm.

"Come and walk with me dear cousin," she said in a gleeful tone.

Kate led Bruce right back into the cemetery, he didn't have to ask her why she wanted to go into the cemetery. He wasn't the only one who had lost someone close to him. A year after Bruce's parents were murdered, Kate had lost her mother Gabi and her twin sister Elizabeth. Kate and her family had moved to Brussels while her parents were serving at NATO. Gabi had taken the girls out one day but heavily armed men from the Religion of Crime kidnapped them. Military intelligence eventually located them, and Jacob, Kate's father was put in charge of the tactical unit that was sent to rescue them. However they were too late as Gabi had been executed along with Elizabeth. Jacob rescued Kate himself, but the sight of her dead mother and sister had traumatized her.

They walked in silence as they made their way through the cemetery, they walked until they reached a double tombstone located not that far away from Bruce's parents were.

In Loving Memory

Gabrielle Kane Elizabeth Kane

1966-2000 1991-2000

Loving Mother and Loving Daughter

Wife and Sister

"I'll never forget that day…. Does it get any easier?" Kate asked.

"No" Bruce replied.

He didn't want to lie to Kate, but he had learned from a young age that lying only led to trouble and you should never lie to family. Especially when you know exactly what they are going through.

"Every time I close my eyes…. I relive that night over and over again, I know that there wasn't anything I could have done…. I mean I was only eight years old." Bruce said.

Kate didn't respond, as she stood there soaking what her cousin had just told her, maybe that was what she needed. To leave Gotham, travel the world and try and find herself.

"So how did you cope with losing them?" she asked.

"I guess that's why I ran away when I was fifteen…. I didn't really cope with my parents death until I was eighteen" he replied.

Kate let out a sigh before saying anything.

"My way of coping was or still is emulating my father's cool-headedness," she said.

"Uncle Jacob was always a cool-headed man despite being in the military but maybe that's why he always comes home in the end" Bruce replied.

The two cousins allowed silence to fill the air around them.

(!)

Alfred pull up outside of Wayne Corp., Bruce looked out the window and up at the large building in front of him.

"Are you sure about this Master Wayne?" Alfred asked him.

Bruce turned to look at his old friend.

"Yes… Despite my reasoning for coming back being postponed, I want everything ready in case" Bruce replied before getting out of the car.

Bruce had told Alfred everything during their drive to Wayne Corp., from him meeting Henry Ducard to his last years with the League of Assassins. Even though Nyssa had told Bruce that Ra's wouldn't be coming to Gotham anytime soon, he wanted to be ready in case that Nyssa and her group failed to prevent Ra's from coming to Gotham. Bruce made his way up to the main doors of Wayne Enterprises then went inside, he ignored the looks he was getting from the people inside as he made his way towards the elevator. After pressing the up button he back waiting for the elevator to arrive.

"Excuse me sir, Can I help you?"

Bruce turned to see a woman making her way towards him. He recognized the woman, she was Earle's assistant. From what Alfred had told him, her name was Jessica.

"Actually Jessica, you can" Bruce said with a smirk.

Jessica looked a little taken aback, she didn't know how this man knew her name but only that it scared her.

Bruce gave her a look of sympathy realizing that he might've scared the poor woman so he did his best to reassure her that he isn't going to harm her.

"I didn't mean to frighten you, you may not believe this but I actually have an appointment with Mr. Earle" he said.

Jessica was still a little scared of Bruce but other than that she pulled out her tablet then started scrolling through the appointments list for her boss today.

"Name?" she asked.

"Bruce Wayne" he said.

The sound of the elevator dinging caught their attention so Bruce being the gentleman that he is allowed Jessica to get in first before getting on himself. Neither of them spoke as the elevator made its way up to the top floor, Bruce could however feel that Jessica would occasionally glance over at him which was fine with him after all everyone was under the belief that he was dead.

"Jessica… maybe you can help me" he said finally breaking the silence.

"Of course Mr. Wayne" she said.

Bruce chuckled.

"Please call me Bruce, Mr. Wayne was, is my father," he said.

She blushed then nodded her head.

"Does Mr. Fox still work here?" he asked.

"Unfortunately, Mr. Fox was let go last year" she replied with a bit of sadness glancing down at her feet, then quickly looking back up and straightening her posture.

Bruce's eyebrows furrowed, that was a minor setback one that he hoped he could resolve during his meeting with Earle. The elevator doors opened and they stepped out together.

"Mr. Earle is currently in a meeting but…" Jessica started to say but stopped when she saw Bruce was making his way towards the boardroom.

"I'm going to say this again Fredricks, like I have for the last two years, we need to stop thinking about what Thomas Wayne would have done, for one he wouldn't have taken the company public but that is what we, as responsible managers, are going to do" Mr. Earle said.

"Your right, he wouldn't have…. He also wouldn't have heavy-arms manufacturing as a suitable cornerstone for Wayne Corp.," said a voice from the doorway.

Mr. Earle and the board of directors turned their heads to see Bruce standing in the doorway.

"Bruce? You're suppose to be dead" Mr. Earl said clearly shocked.

"Sorry to disappoint you" Bruce replied.

Mr. Earle gave out a nervous chuckle then turned his attention to his fellow board members.

"Let's take a few moments," he said then he turned and motioned for Bruce to follow him.

They only made it a few feet away from Mr. Earle's office before Bruce stopped Mr. Earle from going any further.

"Listen Mr. Earle, I understand that I have no say in the matter about the company going public and in fact I don't want to interfere" Bruce said.

"Then may I ask why you are here?" Mr. Earle asked.

"First, I will be rewarded for my shares…. In fact I am looking for a job, I just want to get to know the company that my family built" Bruce replied.

"I believe we can arrange something… any idea where you would like to start?" Earle asked.

"Is Applied Sciences still active?" Bruce replied.

"It is but unfortunately we recently lost the head of the department and the spot is open if you want the spot can be yours" Earle said.

Bruce smirked, he had Earle right where I wanted him.

"I will accept the position on one condition" Bruce replied.

"And what would that be?" Earle asked.

(!)

"All right Tamara time for your bat…." Lucius started to say as he entered his daughter's room only to stop in mid sentence when he saw that she wasn't there.

He turned around and made his way around the house looking for his daughter. Ever since he was let go from his job at Wayne Corp. last year he had taken over the stay at home parent duties while his wife Tanya, had gone back to work picking up double shifts at the diner she used to work at, just so they could keep the house and cars.

Lucius stuck his head into the master bedroom but Tamara wasn't in there either so he started making his way down the hall towards the kitchen.

"Tamara Fox, I'm not in the mood for this tonight…honey," Lucius said as he stepped into the kitchen.

He stopped in his tracks when he saw his young daughter sitting at the table.

She had all her coloring crayons and papers scattered out onto the table but what had caught his eye was that she had her head down on the table and was fast asleep with a crayon still in her hand. He walked over and picked his daughter up into his arms then walked out of the kitchen. As he made his way down the hall, he thought back to the day Tamara came into his and Tanya's life. It was the greatest day in his life, he also hoped one day soon that he and Tanya could expand their family further.

After changing Tamara into her pajamas and placing her in her bed, he made sure to kiss her on her forehead before leaving the room. He walked into the bathroom and drained the tub of all the water.

"She can take her bath tomorrow" he muttered to himself as he walked out of the bathroom and started making his way towards the living room.

 _Knock knock!_

Lucius let out a deep sigh, as he made his way towards the front door and peered out the peephole. He raised en eyebrow when he saw who was standing on the other side of the door. Lucius thought he looked familiar. He stepped back, thought for a moment, then unlocked the door and pulled it open.

"Can I help you young man?" Lucius said.

Bruce smirked then spoke.

"Mister Fox, the last time we met was at my tenth birthday, you came by Wayne Manor to talk to my father about some work stuff" Bruce said.

Lucius' eyes widen in shock at the realization at who was standing on his doorstep.

"Bruce Wayne…. I thought you…." He started to say.

"I'm very much alive Mr. Fox…. May I come in?" Bruce asked bemused.

Lucius nodded his head then motioned for Bruce to enter the house. The two men made their way into the living room. Bruce took a seat in one of the chairs while Lucius took a seat on the couch.

"Now what's this all about Mr. Wayne?" Lucius asked.

"Before I came here, I went to Wayne Corp. and after meeting with Mr. Earle, he gave me your old job as head of the Applied Sciences" Bruce said.

Lucius looked at Bruce confused, _why had to come over here to tell him this_.

"The reason I'm here because I told Mr. Earle that I would accept on one condition and that one condition is that you would come back to work with me at Wayne Corp." Bruce replied.

"Mr. Wayne if you think I'm coming back as your assistant then…." Lucius started to say before Bruce interjected.

"That's not it at all, I want you to come back as lead engineer while I handle the business side mostly dealing with Earle and the rest of the board" Bruce said.

Lucius was taken aback, he hadn't expected this at all but a smile crept along his lips at the thought of being able to return to work.

"That is great news Bruce, I mean Mr. Wayne… I will have to talk it over with Tanya of course," he said as he stood up and offered out his hand. Bruce stood up and shook Lucius' hand before speaking.

"If you accept then I'll see you at work tomorrow morning" he said and walked out the door leaving Lucius standing there still with a smile plastered on his face.


	4. Rattling The Cages Part 1

_WHACK!_

 _WHACK!_

Bruce lifted the axe up into the air going for a third strike to split the wood for the firewood pile he was building up, but stopped when he heard two sets of footprints behind him. He turned his head to see Alfred walking with Andrea. Surprised by her presence he brought the axe down slowly to his side and let it slip from his hand allowing it to fall safely to the ground. He picked up a towel off the stand next to him and wiped the sweat off his head then wrapped it around his shoulders.

"I will go and get some refreshments" Alfred says then walks off leaving the two alone.

"Andrea to what do I owe the pleasure?" Bruce asks.

"I know, I mean we just met yesterday but I was wondering if you wanted to get together some time," she said.

"To be honest I thought my cousin had scared you off" Bruce replied with a chuckle.

"Well I don't scare easily" Andrea replied with a sultry voice.

Bruce smiled, he didn't know why but there was something about the way Andrea carried herself that made him happy when he was around her. He turned to the side and picked up a log off of a pile nearby, he placed it down on the chopping block and he was about to pick the axe up again but stopped when he heard the sound of the backdoor of the manor opening again and saw Alfred walking carrying a tray with drinks on them. Bruce placed the axe down again accepting one of the drinks while Andrea took the other.

"Thank you Al" Bruce said.

"Yes, thank you Alfred" Andrea added.

The older man replied with a smirk and a nod before making his way back into the Manor leaving them alone.

"So, my father is throwing a party this weekend and I was wondering if you wanted to come as my date" she said.

The last part of the question caught Bruce off guard and he spit out a little bit of his tea. He coughs a little, clears his throat then responds.

"I would like that very much," he says which made Andrea look at him with a knowing smirk.

Smiling at each other, the two quietly finish their drinks.

(!)

Bruce stepped off the elevator into the basement of Wayne Corp., which is where apparently Mr. Earle had moved Applied Sciences. The young Wayne didn't like this one bit but at the moment he had no say in the matter but Bruce was making plans to change that soon despite Earle's plans for the company to go public. Bruce made his way towards the small desk that he would be using for the time being.

"So what did Earle tell you before you came down here?"

Bruce turned his head and a smile crossed his lips when he saw Lucius stepping off the elevator making his way towards him.

"They didn't tell me anything" Bruce replied.

"Earle told me exactly what it was when he sent me down here before firing me" Lucius said.

"What's that?" Bruce asked.

"A dead end" Lucius replied as he placed his coat and bag down on top of the only other desk in the room. "A place to keep me from causing the board any more trouble" he said before taking a seat in the chair.

"Where is everyone else?" Bruce asked looking at his watch. He looked up with a raised eyebrow when he heard Lucius let out a chuckle.

"You and I are it Mister Wayne, nobody else works here… Mr. Earle made sure of that" the older man replied.

Anger swelled up inside of Bruce at the revelation, he knew that working in the Applied Sciences department would be difficult but he didn't think that things would be this bad. He balled his hand up into a fist then stood up and started making his way towards the elevator. He knew that Lucius was calling after him but he didn't care for all he was seeing was red at the very moment. Bruce pressed the up button repeatedly until the elevator finally opened and he stepped in and pressed the button for the top floor.

(!)

The moment the elevators opened Bruce stepped out and started making his way to Jessica's desk.

"Where is Earle?" he asked sternly.

"He's…. in his office but he's…." she started to say but Bruce didn't hear what she was saying as he stormed over to Earle's office. He reached for the handle of the door but stopped when he heard voices coming from the other side of it.

"I told you Carmine…. Wayne Corp. goes public and when it does then you can buy up the majority of the shares thus giving you control of the company moving forward."

Bruce balled his fists in anger. Wayne Corp. falling into the hands of the Falcone crime family is the last thing Bruce had wanted to happen. He took a long deep breath then walked over and took a seat in one of the chairs next to Jessica's desk. As he sat there he checked his watch to read the time then looked up to see Jessica looking at him nervously out the corner of her eye. He turned his head slightly when he heard the door to Earle's office opening. Out the corner of his eye he watched as Earle walked Carmine out to the room.

"Bruce what are you doing up here?" Earle asked when he saw him.

Carmine turned his head to look over in Bruce's direction.

"So the rumor is true…. The last of the Waynes has returned from the dead," Carmine said as Bruce got to his feet looking at the two men squarely into their eyes.

"Well I heard a rumor that the city was falling into the hands of scumbags so I thought I'd come and see if it was true" Bruce replied through gritted teeth not taking his eyes off of Carmine who was now scowling at him.

"Thank you for meeting with me Mr. Earle…" Carmine said as he gave Earle a side-glance before turning to walk right up to Bruce inches away from him. "See you around Wayne" he said looking Bruce right in the eye, then turned and walked off leaving Bruce alone with Earle.

When the elevator that Carmine had entered started going down that's when Earle turned his attention to Bruce and he wasn't happy with the young Wayne.

"What the hell Bruce, were you trying to piss the man off?" Earle asked raising his voice slightly.

"You have some nerve questioning me when you were the one talking to a criminal… a mob boss for Christ's sakes Earle" Bruce snapped back.

Bruce closed his eyes then took a breath then opened them again.

Earle rubbed his own face with his hands before speaking again.

"Wayne Corp. is losing money Bruce, that's why the company has to go public and criminal or not…. Falcone has money and we desperately need this money or Wayne Corp. will have to shut down or make a deal with Lionel Luthor," he said.

Bruce glared at the man in front of him then walked off in disgust.

(!)

"Did you know that the company was losing money?" Bruce asked the moment he stepped off the elevator.

"Explains why Earle was so eager to get rid of me" Lucius replied without looking up from his computer.

Bruce walked over and took a seat at his desk. He placed his head in his hands he had no idea what to do now. Then a thought came to him and he looked up.

"Wait…. What about all the projects that the company was developing?" Bruce asked out loud to Luicus.

Luicus let out small sigh then got to his feet and motioned for Bruce to following him as he walked off towards a couple of large crates. Bruce got up and followed him. At the first crate, Lucius unlocked it and flipped the lid open. Lucius reached in and grabbed what Bruce believed to be a harness.

"Kevlar utility harness…" Lucius said admiring the piece in his hands.

He put the harness down then grabbed the next item in the crate.

"A gas-powered, magnetic grapple gun and a 350-pound test monofilament" Lucius said then replaced both items back into the crate before closing the crate and walking off with Bruce right behind him.

Bruce didn't understand why none of these ideas hadn't gone into production, they seemed like they were test ready, if not already in use by the military.

They came to a stop in front of a storage unit, Lucius pulled out a key ring from his pocket and after finding the correct key he unlocked the unit then pulled the doors opened to reveal what seemed to be a suit.

"Harden plates of titanium-dipped tri-weave fibers and broken into multiple pieces of armor over a more flexible bodysuit for greater mobility" Lucius said as he pulled a piece off and handed it to Bruce who started to examine the piece of armor.

When he was done Lucius took the piece of armor back and put it back on the suit before pulling out a drawer in the storage unit to revealing a belt.

"The belt is a convex metal ampules form. Its buckle is made of beveled metal platelets…." He said then grabbed the belt and flipped it over to show off the back.

"The back of the belt is an intricate containment device and could also be detached and used as a tool," Lucius said as he flipped the belt over and then closed the drawer.

"I still don't understand… why didn't they get produced?" Bruce asked.

"Because bean counters didn't think a soldier's life was worth the three hundred grand" Lucius replied.

Bruce rubbed his head in annoyance, he was learning more and more things that he hadn't expected but it made him realize that he had come back right when things were getting to their worst. He looked up and saw that Lucius was watching him, that's when he knew that it was now or never to ask the older man to join him on his mission to save Gotham. He took a long deep breath then spoke.

"Mister Fox there is something I need to talk to you about."

(!)

"What did Lucius say exactly?" Alfred asked as he followed Bruce into the study in Wayne Manor.

"He told me that he had to think it over and honestly Al… I don't blame him. I mean I threw it all at him all at once." Bruce replied as he walked over to the grandfather clock.

Bruce placed his back against the bookshelf near the clock.

"I don't know Al…. maybe I'm going about this all wrong." Bruce said with uncertainty.

Alfred gave Bruce a look of sympathy then walked over and placed his hand on the young Wayne's shoulder making Bruce look at him.

"As much as I want you to find a different way to do this Bruce…. If what you told me about this man is right then there is no other way" Alfred said.

A small smirk crossed Bruce's lips, he nodded his head at Alfred telling him thanks before turning towards the grandfather clock.

"Before I came back I had no idea how bad the city had gotten until today when I found out the only reason why Earle was making the company go public was so that Carmine Falcone could buy up most of the shares" Bruce said.

"The nerve of that man, working with a known mob boss" Alfred said with disgust.

"I wish there was some way to stop Earle from sending the company public" Bruce said.

Alfred furrowed his brows then an idea popped into his head but decided to keep it from Bruce until he was sure it would work.

"Put that aside for now Master Wayne, what do you plan on doing about Falcone and the rest of the criminals?" Alfred asked.

A smirk formed on Bruce's lips once again. He turned and walked over to the grandfather clock and pulled the glass door open. He moved the clock hands until they were pointed at certain numbers on the clock.

"10:47…. That's the time of your parent's death but why would you." Alfred started to ask only to be cut off when the grandfather clock started sliding to the right. When the clock stopped moving that's when Alfred saw a hole right in front him in the wall where the grandfather clock had been.

Bruce motioned for Alfred to follow him then walked through the newly revealed hole. Alfred looked alarmed as he followed Bruce through the hole. As they made their way through a small hall, Alfred noticed lights located on the wall lighting up the way. Bruce put his arm out to stop Alfred from going further then the youngest Wayne reached over and pulled a lever down and multiple lights came on. With the lights on Alfred saw why had Bruce had stopped him, they were standing at the top of a flight of steps that led down to a large flat surface.

"Master Wayne…. Where are we?" Alfred asked.

"Remember when I was eight years old… a little bit before they were murdered and I fell down that hole in the ground?" Bruce asked as they made their way down the steps.

"Yes of course" Alfred replied.

"I fell into a small cave and that's where I got my fear of bats but working with the League of Assassins that's when I realized something" Bruce said as they stepped off the last step.

"What was that?" Alfred asked.

"That I need to take my fear and use against my enemies" Bruce replied as he started walking again with Alfred right behind him.

Sitting in front of them was an immense metal table filled with computers, monitors and surveillance equipment on it and mounted to the wall in front of it. Alfred looked at the equipment then over to a large bulletin board that was covered with pictures of each crime family in Gotham. The first thing Alfred noticed was that each of the families were placed in a pyramid formation with the leaders of the crime families at the top of the pyramids.

"Carmine Falcone, Salvatore "The Boss" Maroni, Rupert Thorn, Tony Zucco and Frank Bertinelli…. All the big crime bosses in this city" Alfred said.

"Zucco and Bertinelli aren't in Gotham at the moment and Thorn is staying low after being arrested two years ago" Bruce said as he crossed his arms over his chest.

"Which leaves only these two" Alfred added.

"I'm going for Falcone…. He's aiming to take control of Wayne Corps. And if I take him out then I don't have to worry about my family's company falling into the Mob's hand" Bruce said.

Alfred looked over at the young Wayne with shock, he could feel the anger radiating off of Bruce as he stared at picture of Carmine Falcone.

"So I take it you know were to start then?" Alfred asked with hint of concern of where this was going to go next.

Bruce nodded his head then made his way over to the computer and typed something up which brought up a picture of someone Bruce knew all too well.

"Johnny Viti….A long list of priors…. Grand theft and assault among them" Bruce said as he read off Johnny's criminal record.

Bruce looked at Johnny's picture. He wasn't surprised at what he was reading in his criminal record. He didn't expect anything less from the nephew of Carmine Falcone.

"So how do you plan on using _your_ fear against your enemies?" Alfred asked.

Bruce motioned to Alfred that he would be right back then walked off into a room that Alfred hadn't noticed when they first entered the cave. Alfred looked around at his surroundings, he had to admit he was proud of what Bruce had pulled together, all though he wasn't too happy about the way Bruce was planning on dealing with things that were happening in the city. He had hoped Bruce would use Wayne Corp. to save the city. If this Ra's Al Ghul does come to Gotham and Bruce is able to stop him then maybe afterwards Bruce could refocus his attention and reclaim his family's company. The sound of footsteps caught Alfred's attention. He turned his head and what he saw before him made him widen his eyes in shock. Standing before him wasn't the boy he had raised but something else.

"Bloody…Hell." Alfred gasped.

 **And there was Chapter 4, and now we get to really good stuff and I kick Chapter 5 off with a bang so let me know if you liked the chapter by leaving a review and make sure you follow the DC Universe Earth 60 Community so you get notified on all the stories in the universe and take a look at my profile page regarding the order of which to read the stories and the Timeline for Earth 60.**


	5. Rattling The Cages Part 2

**And here is the next chapter, sorry for the wait wanted to get it just right. Anyways I want to thank you guys for the reviews, the favorites and follows for this story. I hope you liked the direction I took this chapter. I wanted to portray Batman as a shadow character at for his first night out. The next chapter will be normal way I'll write him.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Batman.**

A brown beat up van pulled up on an old run down building, five men emerged from the vehicle. Two from the front and three from the back, four of the men grabbed two large crates from the back of the van and carried them towards the building. The five men entered the building then made their way to the main area of the old warehouse where another group of men were waiting for them.

"Come on man, I haven't got all day" said a skinny white man who was wearing a purple and black two-piece suit.

"Patience is a virtue my friend, besides the shit weights a ton" the leader of the group from the van said.

"I don't care if it weights a thousand pounds, some of us have other shit to do" the man in the purple two piece suit said.

The other man put his hands up defensively.

"Hey man, no need for the hate here, we're all just tryin' to make a livin' man" the van group leader said before taking a small step forward towards the larger man. "The name is Ricky Leblanc," he said as he extended his hand out.

The man with the bandana narrowed his eyes at the attempt at the friendly gesture.

"Johnny…. Johnny Viti" the man said before shaking Johnny's hand with a hard but firm handshake.

Ricky wanted to make a joke but thought better of it due to the hostility he felt radiating off the large man in front of him.

"So, let's get down do business shall we?" Ricky said as he clapped his hands together.

The four men with the crates carried them forward and placed them down on the ground between Ricky and Johnny. Ricky held out his hand out and was handed a crowbar by one of his men, using the crowbar he popped the top off of one of the crates to reveal multiple automatic guns inside. Ricky reached in and took the guns out and handed it over to Johnny who accepted it without speaking a word.

"That right there is some grade "A" shit, top of the line" Ricky said as he placed a toothpick in mouth.

Johnny didn't respond as he looked over the hardware in his hands. He had to say was impressed by the quality of the weapon that was in possession. When Johnny was done inspecting the he motioned for one of his men who was carrying two duffle bags, the man walked over placed the bags on the ground then unzipped them to reveal that they were hold large amount of money.

"Ooohh that's what I'm talkin' about" Ricky said as he rubbed his hands together with a smile plastered on his face.

Ricky picks up the bags but stops when suddenly the lights in the warehouse go out. Everyone quickly draws their guns.

"You forget to pay the electric bill or somethin'?" Ricky asked with a nervous chuckle.

The sound of something flapping through the air could be heard making everyone turn around in shock. One of Ricky's men let out a scream as they were yanked back out of sight into the darkness of the room. Johnny snapped his fingers then started handing guns out to his men from the open crate.

"Anyone see anything…. You light the fucker up," Johnny said as his eyes scanned the darkened room. "And will someone go and turn the lights back on!" he snapped in annoyance.

Johnny heard movement, he thought it was one of his boys going to find the circuit breaker, but that changed when he heard the sounds of bones being broken and the groan of a man being knocked out. _'Jesus frickin…. Christ what the hell is going on'_ Johnny thought to himself as he scanned the room getting more nervous.

The lights in the room came back on and to Johnny's horror he saw that he was only one left standing, while everyone else was lying on the ground knocked out cold. Johnny scanned the room but again saw nothing even with the lights on. Out the corner of his eye came a quick shadowed movement. He spun towards it then fired off rounds from the automatic but soon realized he was firing at nothing.

"WHERE ARE YOU!" he shouted in rage into the air.

"Here" came a deep menacing voice from behind him so turned around only to be struck in the face knocking him out cold.

(!)

"Wake up!"

Johnny Viti's eyes shot open the first thing he saw was a pair of eyes staring back at him, he let out a scream then tired to get up and run. Before he could move however the mysterious figure grabbed him by the back of his collar and yanked him backwards to the ground. The figure stood over Johnny and placed a boot down on Johnny's wrist, stepping hard making Johnny squirm and growl in pain.

"How is your uncle getting drugs into the city?" the figure asked with a deep, gruff voice.

"I ain't tellin' you shit" Johnny spat still writing in pain from his wrist.

The figure pressed down harder on Johnny's wrist, a cracking sound was heard making the man cry out in pain.

"I'm not going to ask again," the figure growled and when Johnny didn't say anything that's when the figure went to put his full weight on Johnny's wrist.

"O…ok…okay, I'll tell you" Johnny sputtered in intense agony trying to stop the man from completely breaking his wrist.

The figure eased up on the pressure, a little.

"The docks…. He hides the drugs in the containments along with whatever else he's tryin' to smuggle into the city," Johnny said as he continues to squirm under the pressure.

He closed his eyes waiting for whatever the mystery figure was going to do.

What he didn't expect to hear was the sound of footsteps walking away. He opened his eyes and grabbed his freed but fractured wrist. As he sat up and started to rub his wrist a little, still feeling the severe pain in it, he lifted his eyes to see two shadows in front of him. A sense of dread came over him. _"He's back? Now what does he want he thought to himself."_

"I don't know anything else! Leave me alone!" he said desperately to the shadows.

He heard a snicker and looked up to see two familiar men staring down at him. Their flashlights were shining down in his face. Sergeant James Gordon and Detective Harvey Bullock looked at him puzzled.

"Where'd it go?" Johnny said scared, looking frantically around him as Bullock and Gordon pulled the man up to his feet.

"Where'd what go?" Gordon asked.

"The thing that attacked me and my men" Johnny replied clearly shaken.

"There ain't nothin' here Viti" Bullock snorted as he escorted Johnny off of the rooftop.

Gordon went to follow but stopped when he thought he felt someone or something watching him, so he turned around, stood there looking out into the night, but saw nothing.

(!)

Gordon and Bullock enter the precinct escorting a cuffed Johnny Viti. They headed towards the holding cells, Bullock continued on with the prisoner while Gordon took a seat at his desk dropping an evidence bag on top holding Viti's phone and gun.

"Hey Gordon, Loeb wants to see you in his office" an officer shouted so Gordon stood up then made his way through the bullpen towards Commissioner Gillian B. Loeb's office.

Gordon released a deep breath that he had been holding in for a while before knocking on the Commissioner's door and entered when he heard the gruff voice of Loeb. He walked over and took a seat in front of Loeb's desk. He sat there as his boss talked on the phone talking to Mayor Hamilton Hill. Gordon sat there pretending not to listen to the conversation but he made sure to listen to every word. Since transferring from Chicago, his first day on the job Gordon could tell that Loeb was one of many dirty cops in the GCPD. Loeb finally put the phone down then turned to face Gordon.

"I suppose an order of congratulations are in order for the arrest of Johnny Viti, the nephew of one Carmine Falcone, the biggest crime lord in this city," Loeb said with a hint of annoyance which didn't go unnoticed by Gordon.

"Well as you know Detective Bullock and I have been survalliancing Viti for a few weeks now, just last night we got word that Viti was overlooking an arms deal" Gordon said as he leaned back in the chair he was sitting in.

"And so you actually saw this transaction take place?" Leob asked.

"Yes, we had an officer undercover and we heard the entire conversation" Gordon responded.

Leob looked at Gordon with a raised eyebrow, he clasped his hands together then leaned forward in his chair keeping eye contact with Gordon.

"And that's it?" he asked.

Gordon let out a deep sigh then answered.

"Viti claims he and everyone was attacked by something but when we apprehended Viti, there was no one else there on the rooftop with him" Gordon said.

"What about the other men inside the warehouse?" Leob asked.

"Everyone inside was lying on the ground knocked out cold" Gordon replied.

Leob narrowed his eyes at the Sergeant, he could tell that Gordon wasn't telling him everything.

"Anything else?" Leob asked.

"Some of the men had broken bones and missing teeth but for all we know they could've sustained them during a fight" Gordon responded.

"And the officer that was undercover?" Leob asked.

"Just knocked out cold, no harm," Gordon said calmly.

Leob didn't say anything after that, he then motioned for Gordon to leave his office so Gordon got up and walked out, making sure to shut the door behind him. He made his way over to where his and Harvey's desks were. He saw Bullock sitting there waiting for him.

"Viti is currently sitting comfortably in an interrogation room, are you ready?" Harvey asked.

"Uh… give me a few minutes." Gordon said then turned and made his way towards the staircase leading to the rooftop.

(!)

Gordon paced along the rooftop with a lit cigarette dangling from his mouth, he was thinking about his life before coming to Gotham. He took the cigarette out of his mouth and exhales. He raises the cigarette to his mouth again only to stop when he felt that same feeling he had gotten back on the rooftop of the warehouse. Dropping the cigarette, he slowly turned around saw someone or something staring back at him. They were perched on top of one of the gargoyles directly across from the GCPD. Gordon quickly went for his gun but in doing so, he took his eyes off the figure and when he looked again with his gun out in front of him, the mysterious figure was gone. He was putting his gun back in its holster when he felt something touch his back.

"I'm not going to hurt you," said a voice from behind Gordon.

"You attacked Johnny Viti tonight?" Gordon asked slowly turning around with his hand still on his gun in its holster.

"Yes" the voice replied.

Gordon opens his mouth to say something but the voice cuts him off.

"Carmine Falcone, a known crime boss is running around the streets of Gotham, why?" the voice asked.

"He has people in his pocket" Gordon replied.

"Like who?" the voice asked.

"You name it…. Some cops, Commissioner Leob, Judges and some of other city officials" Gordon said.

"What would you need to put him behind bars?" the voice asked.

"We're hoping Viti will help, but I know that he won't turn over on family besides we have nothing on Falcone to take him down" Gordon responded.

"Viti says that Carmine uses the dock, he hides the drugs in the containments along with whatever else he's tryin' to smuggle into the city," the voice says.

"Wait… why are you telling me this?" Gordon asked.

"Because you're one of the only honest cop in this city," the voice replied.

"That aside, even with that information, Viti will never tell us that and so we won't get the go ahead to take Falcone down" Gordon said.

"Tonight we will" the voice responded.

"We?" Gordon asked but he didn't get a response so he turned around only to see that he was the only one on the rooftop. That was until the door to the roof came flying open and GCPD Officer Ethan Bennett stepped out.

"Sir, Detective Bullock asked me to get you" Ethan said.

Gordon looked around once more then turned and followed Bennett back inside.

(!)

Carmine Faclone sat in the back of his car, he had heard about his nephew being arrested by the GCPD. He had received the information from a source of his inside the Police Department. They had also told him that his nephew hadn't said anything to Gordon or Bullock. The moment the car came to a stop, he opened the back door and got out of car and made his way over to where his men were placing boxes in the back of the trucks.

"How are things going tonight boys?" Carmine asks.

"Almost done here boss, just two more containment boxes and we'll be all set" Larry responded.

Carmine nodded his head then turned and started making his way back to the car only to stop when a police car pulled up next to his car. He heard his men stop moving as well. Two police officers stepped out.

"Anything we can help you with officers?" Carmine asked.

"What's going on here?" one of the officers asked ignoring Carmine's question completely.

"Just moving boxes officer," Larry responded.

The two officers looked at each other then one of them walked over and took a stance in front of Larry who was holding one of the boxes. The officer pulled out a knife. He brought the knife up then cut the tape going down the middle of the box keeping the folds down. He flips open the lids then reached inside the box and pulled out a stuffed animal. The officer leaned down a little and sniffed the animal and pulled back instantly.

"Geez, what's that smell?" the officer asked.

"I always have the boxes sprayed with chemicals to keep the bugs from getting at them" Carmine said.

The officer placed the animal back in the box then motioned for Larry to carry on with his duties.

"Well I don't see anything wrong with this… carry on" the officer said then reached up to where the body cam was on his chest and turned it off with his partner doing the same.

"That should be enough for the boys back at the station" the second officer replied.

The two officers were Timothy Munroe and Rodger DeCarlo. They were just two of the many corrupt cops under Falcone's payroll. While some of the officers that were under Carmine's payroll were under it because they were afraid of the mob boss, these two were happy to be working for Falcone's payroll. Mostly because they liked the extra money in their pockets and felt that nothing could ruin it for them.

"You two idiots done playing around?" Falcone barked annoyed at the men's antics.

The two men smirked and nodded their heads.

"Good" Carmine said annoyed as he fixed his suit, "Now go and do your fucking job" and walked over to his car and got into the back.

Munroe nudged DeCarlo in the side then the two men walked over to help the other men carry the boxes from the containment to the trucks. They had nearly finished loading up the third truck when they heard something moving above them, which made them all stop and look up to where the sound had come from.

"What the hell was that?" Larry asked putting down the box he had been holding.

No one said anything as they all pulled out their guns making sure to keep their eyes up, suddenly movement could be heard coming from the right of them. They all turned and started firing off into the darkness only to stop when they realized there was nothing there. The group of men backed up into a circle hoping that one of them would be lucky enough to spot something. Just as one of them were about to speak, something hit the ground in the middle of the group making them all jump and spin around to see a metal object lying on the ground.

Officer Munroe walked over and slowly crouched down and picked it up. He stood back up and that's when he saw that the metal object was in the shape of a bat.

"What the hell?" he muttered to himself then turned to see that his partner DeCarlo was looking upwards again.

"What are you looking at?" Munroe asked then he lifted his head.

When he looked up he saw something dark and large hanging directly above them.

"What the…" Munroe started to say confused.

Before he could finish, the thing hanging above them dropped down landing in the middle of the group of men.

The figure grabbed Munroe's wrist that was holding his gun and pushed it upwards causing the gun to fire up into the air making the other men cover their heads and move away from the circle. The figure quickly brought its arm up then brought it down hard upon Munroe's arm, hard enough to dislocate the Officer's elbow. Before Munroe could scream out in pain, the figure smashed its elbow into his face knocking him out cold. The figure then turned its attention to the other men. It sent a fist into the face of DeCarlo, which was followed up by dodging an incoming fist from another thug. The figure kicked the thug in the kneecap then smashed its fist into the thug's face as it quickly turned and caught the wrist of the next thug who was holding a small knife.

The figure twisted the thug's wrist then shoved it into the thug's shoulder making the man cry out in pain. The figure narrowly moves its head out of the way of an incoming fist from the thug behind him, making the fist hit the thug with the knife in his shoulder knocking that thug out cold. The figure turns and grabs Larry's arm then judo throws him into DeCarlo who was getting back up to his feet. The figure walked over and knocked the two men out with hard punches to their faces. The figure stood and looked around at the men lying on the ground before turning and starting its way towards Falcone.

Carmine sat in the back of his car, he looked out the tinted windows of the car, as he heard the gunfire coming from the containment area. He reached down and picked up his shotgun. He started loading it up with shells. Once he was done loading the shotgun he got out of the car and looked around up at the night sky.

"You think you can mess with me?" he shouted into the air.

He fired off one shot into the air hoping to scare off whomever attacked his men.

"Do you know who I am?" Carmine shouted as he fired off another shot.

He reloaded the shotgun with a few more shells before making his way towards his men.

"Do you know who I am?" Carmine shouted into the air again.

He went to say something else when something sharp struck him in the hand making him cry out in pain and drop his shotgun. A figure dropped down and kicked him in the chest knocking him backwards into the car. The figure grabbed him then slammed him up against the car.

"Your name is Carmine "The Roman" Falcone" the figure growled.

"What the hell are you?" Carmine asked scared out of his mind.

The figure leaned forward then spoke in a deep gravely voice.

"I'm Batman."

(!)

"So what do you think it's about?" Bullock asked Gordon as they pulled up to the docks.

"Reports of gunfire but apparently that's not the only thing according to one the boys. There are boxes filled with stuffed animals" Gordon replied.

"So what?" Bullock asked confused.

"The animals were stuffed with narcotics," Gordon said.

"Jesus Christ" Bullock moaned in response before the two men got out of the car and started making their way down towards the shipping area.

When they arrived they saw officers digging through boxes filled with stuffed animals and pulling out the baggies of drugs hidden inside of them making sure to place the drugs in evidence bags.

"Who was the first officer on the scene?" Gordon asked.

"Me Sergeant" came a voice from their right. They turned to see Officer Bennett making his way towards them.

"This everything?" Bullock asked.

"A group of Falcone's men were found unconscious over there" he said and pointed in the direction of where the men were. "But that's nothing, wait until you see the icing on the cake" Bennett said with small smirk.

He motioned for the two men to follow him and they did, all three men walked over to where Falcone's car was parked. Sitting down on the ground with his left hand handcuffed to the door handle was none other than Carmine Falcone.

"Did he get a good look at his attacker?" Gordon asked.

"Claims he was attacked by something calling himself The Batman" Bennett replied.

"Oh give me a break there ain't no such thing as a Batman" Bullock said rolling his eyes clearly not buying Falcone words.

Suddenly a loud sound could be heard above so all three men raised their heads into the air to see a figure standing on the roof of the warehouse. There was a flash of lighting and they could make out the figure and saw the large bat on the man's chest.

"No such thing as the Batman huh?" Bennett asked Bullock sarcastically.

The detective mumbled under his breath then walked off leaving Officer Bennett standing there with a smile on his face. Meanwhile Gordon stared at the spot where the figure once stood.

(!)

Alfred who was dusting the shelves in the study turned when the entrance to the cave opened up and Bruce walked out with an unreadable expression on his face.

"I see you had an eventfull evening tonight," Alfred said as he motioned to the television that was on.

Bruce turned his attention over to the television set to see that it was on the evening news. It showed the GCPD arresting Carmine Falcone and his men at the docks and the arrest of GCPD Officers Timothy Munroe and Rodger DeCarlo were reportedly under the payroll of Falcone. Bruce walked over and took a seat in one of the two chairs in the study. He picked up the book sitting on the table between the two chairs.

"Now what about the rest of the Falcone family?" Alfred asked.

"From what I understand Sofia never wanted into the life. Mario is the oldest son which means he would take over operations but even if he does, he doesn't have the same respect that Falcone had with the other families" Bruce replied.

"And Alberto?" asked Alfred.

Bruce had almost forgotten about the youngest Falcone. He had been born a year after Bruce's parents were murdered.

"He would fair far less than Mario would but it doesn't matter now, Falcone is behind bars and now and I can turn my attention to the other crime families" Bruce replied before as he opened the book and started reading it.

(!)

Mario Falcone was fuming. His father Carmine had been arrested by the GCPD and that was only after being attacked by the same mysterious figure that had attacked his cousin earlier in the night. He paced back and forth as his brother Alberto watched him nervously from a safe distance. He stopped when he felt his phone vibrate in his pocket. He quickly pulled it out to see that he had gotten a text from their sister Sofia responding to his earlier text about visiting their father in Blackgate.

"This is fucking bullshit," Mario shouted in anger.

"What did she say?" Alberto asked.

"Those fucking pigs won't let us see him until next week" Mario replied disgust.

"What happens now?" Alberto asked.

Mario stopped pacing again and turned to face his younger brother.

"We do exactly what father should've done to all of our enemies to begin with" Mario responds.

"And how do you plan on doing that?" Alberto asks.

A knock on the door to the billiard room caused the younger Falcone to jump slightly, Mario rolled his eyes at his brother's reaction and walked over and opened the door to reveal a man standing in the doorway.

"Dear brother, meet our associate Floyd Lawton a.k.a. Deadshot" Mario said with a sadistic smirk on his face.

Alberto looked over at the man who lifted his hand and using his fingers made a gun.

"Bang."

 **And there you have it, I hope you guys enjoyed the chapter and I can't wait to see what you think of the battle between Batman and Deadshot. Also don't worry Deadshot isn't going to be a one chapter villain either as I have more plans for him in this story.**

 **Don't forget to leave a review.**


	6. Deadshot Part 1

**Hey everyone sorry for the long wait but I had a lot going on but everything is good now. Okay now about the chapter. Originally this was going to be just one chapter but as I close to the end of the first fight I realized that the way it ends wouldn't work if I kept going so i decided to end it the way I did so this will now be a 2 parter.**

 ***I don't own anything Batman related as they belong to DC Comics.**

Alfred entered the master bedroom and came to a halt when he saw that Bruce was still asleep. He rolled his eyes and walked over to pull back the curtains allowing the sun to enter the room and shine brightly in Bruce's face.

"Bats are nocturnal" Bruce muttered as he rolled over, pulling the blanket over his head.

"But you're not a bat…. Although your actions from last night continue to not go unnoticed," Alfred said dryly as he walked over to the bed.

Bruce turned back over to see Alfred holding out the morning newspaper so he sat up and took it only to see Falcone's arrest all over the front page. Bruce read each line a few times to soak in the information. It was definitely a start, but he also knew that there was more work to be done and he couldn't celebrate something he considered a small victory at the moment. He tossed the covers off and made his way over to his walk-in closet. He pulled it open and pulled out the suit he would be wearing for the day.

"Mr. Earle called, he seemed upset and wanted to talk to you as soon as possible" Alfred said with amusement.

Bruce walked out fully dressed. He grabbed his father's watch and placed it on his wrist securing it before he started working on his tie.

"Well hopefully it's good news and not about him revealing that he decided to get into bed with another known felon" Bruce replied.

"Also Miss Beaumont called and wanted me to you that the party that her father is throwing is tonight and so I told her that you would arrive around six thirty" Alfred said as he walked over and fixed Bruce's tie for him

"I don't deserve you Al" Bruce said with a smirk.

"No sir… you don't" Alfred replied with a smirk of his own.

(!)

Floyd's eyes shot open at the sound of the alarm. He slowly reached over and turned the alarm clock off. He turned back around and came face to face with his smiling wife Susan. He reached his hand up and moved her hair out of her face before leaning in and pressing his lips to hers in a deep passionate kiss.

"I love you Sue," he murmurs as he kisses her forehead.

The sound of tiny footsteps could be heard coming towards the bedroom. The two parents smiled at each other knowing that the footsteps belonged to their son Edward who was named after Floyd's older brother.

"Your son is creeping this way," Susan said with a raised eyebrow and a small smirk.

"Oh he's my son when he's trying to sneak into places is that right?" Floyd says with a smirk back at her.

"No, he's only your son when he's been naughty" Susan responded as she moved over to sit next to him.

Floyd goes to say something when suddenly Edward jumps onto the bed landing between his two parents.

"Did… did I scare you?" Edward asked in a small voice.

Floyd sent his son a small smirk before reaching over and tussling his son's hair.

"Yeah kid you did" Floyd said.

Floyd's phone goes off so he leans over and picks it up. A frown crosses his face at the sight of the name on the caller I.D.

"Eddy, go get dressed and ready for school" Susan said with neutral tone.

The small boy smiled then jumped off the bed and ran out of the room. The moment she heard the door to Edward's bedroom close she turned to face her husband who still had his back to her. Susan didn't have to see Floyd's face to see what was bothering him. She could tell by his body that who ever had called gave her husband a bad feeling. She crawled over and hugged him from behind.

"It's time," he said.

"You don't have to do this Floyd," she says as she rubs his back trying to sooth him.

"I have to, and like I promised this is the last time, then we can get out of this damn city and never come back" Floyd said as he as he leaned his head sideways so it was resting on her head.

It was no secret to Floyd that Susan wasn't fond of his job, in fact she wasn't afraid to let him know that she hated what he did for a living. Despite this, it didn't make her love Floyd any less since it wasn't the reason she married him. She married the man in front of her because despite him being a contracted killer she loved him for the man she knew he really was. She couldn't explain properly how she can separate her intense love for him and the hatred for what he does as a 'job', but she has learned to do so. Part of it is their rule for him to never bring any of it home. Such as talking about it, no weapons, or clothes if they have blood on them. She never wanted to have to explain to their son any of it.

"I'll see you tonight" Floyd said as he brought her hand up and kissed it then he turned and pressed his lips to hers.

Susan climbed out of the bed and walked into the bathroom shutting the door behind her. Floyd sat there for a few moments before standing up. He walked over to his dresser then changed into some plain looking clothes. Once he was done he walked out of the bedroom and went downstairs. When he entered the kitchen he saw his son sitting at the kitchen table eating cereal. He stood there for a few moments watching his son. He noticed his son smiling at him so he returned the smile and walked over and kissed his son on the top of his head.

"Have fun at school today kiddo" he said then walked out of the house.

(!)

The moment Bruce pulled up to Wayne Corp. he saw that reporters from all the major news stations in Gotham were standing outside the building. He let out a deep breath before opening the driver side door. Unfortunately for Bruce, emerging from his car didn't go unnoticed by the reporters who quickly turned on their heels and made their way over where he was. _'Damn'_ was the only word that came into Bruce's mind to describe his current situation.

"Mister Wayne…"

Bruce turned his head to see Earle making his way towards him. As he watched the CEO of Wayne Corp. make his way towards him, Bruce could tell that something was off about him. As if he was shaken up about something. Earle walked over and shot Bruce a smile before placing his arm over Bruce pulling him close to him.

"We need to talk Bruce" Earle whispered into his ear then turned and smiled as pictures were being taken of the two men.

After a few more minutes of them getting their pictures taken, both Bruce and Earle made their way through the throng of reporters and through the front doors of the Wayne Corp. building.

"I hope you're not here to tell me that you decided to get into bed with another well-known crime boss Mr. Earle" Bruce said pointedly as they came to a stop just inside the doors.

"No, I learned my lesson on that…. I guess the only option now is to make some sort of deal with Luthor and Luthor Corp." Earle replied.

Meanwhile a few blocks away from Wayne Corp., sitting on top of a rooftop was Floyd. He was no longer wearing the clothes that he had left the house in, now he was wearing a black bulletproof vest with black shoulders pads connected to it. A dark red top underneath that, black pants and black boots. Mounted on each wrist were twin machine guns. Resting on his right eye was a specialized targeting device that allowed Lawton to see from a very far distance. Clicking on the device he watched as it fixated on his intended target a few blocks away.

"All right time to check the account" Lawton said as he pulled out his phone. He quickly pulled up his bank account, a scowl appeared on his face with he saw the zero balance. He quickly dials a number and places it on speaker.

" _Is it done?"_ came Mario Falcone's voice.

"Yeah about that…. My account is lookin' a little empty there Mario" Floyd replied.

" _You don't get paid until the body hits the pavement"_ Mario replied with anger slightly rising in his voice.

"Nope. That's not the rules. No gwop, no drop " Floyd answered back.

Floyd set his sights back onto his target.

"And it looks like your old friend is about to hold a press conference and share his dirty little secret" Floyd said. Lawton looks down at the zero balance on his phone. "Still seeing zeroes over here Mario."

" _Damnit Lawton, stop being cute and do the damn job"_ Mario growls with anger in his voice.

Floyd looks again at his target that was making his back towards the reporters.

"Oh good, he's waving over to the circus and I'd say in about thirty seconds or less your window will close forever" he says to Mario.

" _Fine…. There was an error okay,"_ Mario replied having enough of Lawton playing with him.

Floyd's phone vibrates in his hand so he looks to see the money had finally been transferred. He sat there for a few minutes then said, "Good now triple it."

" _You son of bitch, do you know who I am? My name is…."_

"Hey super Mario either you triple my amount or I let the man walk" Lawton says ignoring Mario's attempt at threatening him.

When Floyd didn't hear a response he was about to start packing up when he felt his phone vibrate once again so he looked to see that Mario had transferred the rest of the money. A smile crosses Floyd's lips.

"See you can play nice" Floyd said then leaned back and fired off a round from his wrist-mounted machine gun.

Bruce watched as Earle motioned for the reporters, as he was about to hold a very sudden press conference. The doors to the side of Bruce opened and Fox walked out taking a stand next to him. Neither man spoke, as they both knew what the other was thinking. Then Fox finally broke the silence.

"Did you watch the news last night?" he asked.

"I did" Bruce replied.

"They're trying to cover up that Falcone is claiming that a Bat-man took his men down," Fox said.

"If that was true then that's the last thing the GCPD would want the city to think that some man was running around dressed like a bat" Bruce replied as he turned to see Fox was looking at him.

"Mister Wayne, do you take me for a fool?" Lucius asked.

"Of course not, I respect you but I had to do something before Falcone could get his hands on my father's company" Bruce replied.

Silence passes between the two men.

"Were you able to think about what I told you?" Bruce asked.

"I did and I…." Fox started to say when suddenly Earle dropped to the ground making Bruce along with Fox rush over to him.

"Earle can you…." Bruce started to say only to stop when he saw blood coming out from underneath Earle's body. "Someone call 911!" he shouted then crouched down next to Earle's body.

Then he noticed the bullet hole in the middle of Earle's chest. Bruce looked over the rest of Earle's body, making sure not to touch anything; he didn't want his fingerprints on the body. When he was done he stood up and looked at his surroundings. He looked at the crowd, then at windows of the surrounding buildings, then up to the rooftops of the buildings looking for anything. There was no sound of a gun going off, just Earle dropping to the ground. Before Bruce could start figuring out what had happened or start looking for other clues, he was interrupted by the sounds of sirens coming towards Wayne Corp. Three GCPD Cruisers and an ambulance pulled up in front of the building.

Bruce stepped back as GCPD officers made their way up the steps but they weren't the only ones there, Sergeant James Gordon and Detective Harvey Bullock had arrived as well. Officers were controlling the crowd that had gathered and began taping off the scene of the crime and making a perimeter while Bullock and Gordon made their way up the steps towards where Earle's body was laying. Bullock walked over to check on the body and Gordon made his way over to where Bruce was standing.

"Mister Wayne, I wish I could welcome you back under better circumstances," Gordon said.

"Me too Sergeant" Bruce replied.

"Now can you tell me everything that happened" Gordon said.

"I met Earle outside the building, he had called a meeting but I didn't know he was intending to hold a press conference" Bruce responded.

"Any idea what the press conference was supposed to be about?" Gordon asked.

"No" Bruce said.

"Then what happened?" Gordon asked.

"I stood inside by the doors talking to Mr. Fox while Earle motioned for the reporters. He started talking to them when suddenly he fell to the ground… I ran over and that's when I saw the bullet hole in his chest" Bruce responded.

Gordon nodded his head then closed his notepad.

"If you think of anything else give me a call" Gordon said then walked over to where Bullock was talking to Fox.

(!)

Bruce stepped off the elevator going straight to the computer at his desk. He sat down and immediately started typing away. He went into the Wayne Corp. security cams from outside the building and rewound the footage back before Earle had started motioning for the reporters. He sat there and watched the footage. When it ended the first time he rewound back to right before Earle's body hit the ground. Watching the footage on a Wayne Corp. computer was exhausting for Bruce mostly because he couldn't really analyze the data like he could do on the computer back at the cave.

"You're not going to get far using that old thing."

Bruce turned his head to see Lucius stepping off the elevator.

"Yeah… I kind of figured that when I tried zooming in on this area in front of Earle's chest" Bruce replied pointing to a spot on the screen.

Lucius chuckled then walked over and placed a hand on Bruce's shoulder.

"You know Bruce if you want to take any of the prototypes, you're more than welcome to. It's not like they're ever going to be used for anything," Luicus said.

Bruce nodded his head before standing up, he made his way around the desk and walked over to where the prototypes were located. He unclipped the locks then flipped the lid to show off the grapple gun, he looked the gun over and down at the crate again to see Kevlar utility harness. He placed the grapple gun back in the case then closed it.

"This will do" Bruce said.

He turned and saw the look that Luicus was giving him.

"What?" Bruce asked.

"Would you like to take the suit too?" Luicus asked.

Bruce turned his head to the cabinet behind them, he thought about it for a few moments then ultimately shook his head.

"I'm fine with what I'm working with at the moment" Bruce replied.

(!)

Bruce entered the Batcave with Alfred right behind him. Alfred had tired of talking to Bruce about what had happened at Wayne Corp., but the young Wayne hadn't said a word. _'The Batman has apparently taken control of him'_ Alfred thought as they made their way towards the computer. Ever since Alfred had come to the very unfortunate conclusion, whenever Bruce puts on the mask, he really becomes The Batman and it sort of scared Alfred. He hadn't seen Bruce fight the thugs from the previous night but he had read the reports. He hadn't fathomed that the boy he had watched grow up would become the man standing in front of him. Then again, everything had changed when Bruce's parents were killed right before his eyes. That was the same night that the innocence behind Bruce's eyes had also died.

Gone was the boy who loved watching cartoons on Saturday mornings, gone was the boy who loved playing outside. Gone was the boy who…

"Alfred?"

The old man was taken out of his thoughts at the sound of Bruce's voice.

"Yes Master Wayne?" Alfred asked.

"Are you alright?" Bruce asked him.

"Lost in thought for a moment sir," Alfred replied.

Alfred let out a sigh of relief when Bruce turned back to the computer. He walked over and stood next to Bruce who was looking at something on the computer screen. The two men watched the footage of Earle standing outside of Wayne Corp.. Bruce stopped the footage when Earle's body hit the ground. He rewound the footage back to when Earle was standing. He reached over and pressed a few buttons on the keyboard then used the mouse to zoom in on the screen. As he zoomed in, an image of a bullet became clearer to the two men.

Bruce typed away at computer hoping to figure out how fast the bullet had been going and the angle the bullet to find where it had originated. Unfortunately for Bruce, once again technology wasn't proving to be a good friend to him at the moment so he turned and started making his way towards the docking bay where a black motorcycle sat awaiting for him.

"Don't forget Master Wayne, that the party is in three hours," Alfred shouted out to him.

Bruce didn't acknowledge his old friend as he pulled on his helmet then after kicking the engine to life he roared up and out of the Batcave.

(!)

Bruce drove the motorcycle into the alleyway and pulled up next to the building and killed the engine before climbing off. He reached up and was about to pull the helmet off when he heard a commotion from behind the dumpster a few feet away. He walked over and reached out to grab the dumpster when whatever was making the noise came out from behind it. A small black puppy it shook its head then looked up at where Bruce was standing.

The puppy whined then started stepping backwards behind the dumpster.

' _Poor thing must be frightened'_ Bruce thought to himself then realized he was still wearing his helmet so he lifted it off his head and placed it on the ground next to him. He crouched down to the ground and slowly pulled his glove off his hand and held it out to the puppy. He sat there and waited for the puppy to move or do something. Slowly the puppy turned and went back behind the dumpster. Bruce pulled his hand back and started to stand back up only to stop when he heard the puppy moving again. He looked down to see the puppy remerging from behind the dumpster and it was pushing something with its nose.

Bruce crouched down again, he slowly reached his hand out and took the object that the puppy had been rolling towards him with its nose. He held the object up and that's when he realized that it was a shell casing from a bullet. Bruce picked the casing up with his gloved hand. He reached up and pressed the button on the com in his ear.

"Al can you hear me?" he asked.

" _Loud and clear Master Bruce"_ Alfred replied.

"I found a shell casing in an alley, I would take it back to the cave for analysis but the equipment I need hasn't arrived yet" Bruce said.

" _What are you going to do then?"_ Alfred asked him.

Bruce didn't respond as he looked over the casing a little more. He brought the casing up and gave it a little sniff. His head recoiled at the smell, he couldn't tell what the smell was but for some reason it smelled familiar to him as if he had smelled the odor before. _'Why does this smell so familiar?'_ he thought to himself, then looked down to where the puppy had been only to see that it must've ran off when he wasn't paying attention. Then it hit him, there was only one type of odor that an assassin would use with bullets. It was a neuro-toxin called curare. Luckily for Bruce the poison wasn't on the casing itself. He reached up and pressed his com again.

"Al, I need you to look up any cases of victims being shot but had poison found in their system" Bruce said.

" _Checking… unfortunately I can't sir, it seems you need to connect to the national criminal database and the only way to do that is…."_

"I have to break into the GCPD." Bruce said finishing Alfred's sentence.

(!)

Batman stared at the rooftop of the GCPD. He noticed two guards on the copter pad, two standing in front of the door leading to the inside the building, and three that were patrolling the ground. He also knew that there was an eighth man, a sniper somewhere. He glanced around and finally spotted the sniper on the roof to the right of the station. He pulled out the newly acquired grapple gun. He pointed it at the rooftop with the sniper. He fired it and when it connected to the roof he leapt off the rooftop he had been on and swung through the air until he made contact with the building, then pulled the trigger and was automatically pulled up towards the roof.

When he got close to the ledge of the roof, he released the grapple and caught the top of the ledge then pulled himself up. He silently made his way over to where the sniper was and once he was directly behind the officer he grabbed him then placed him in a sleeper hold knocking the officer out cold. He slowly lowered the officer down to the ground then turned his attention to the roof of the GCPD. Peering down, he knew that they needed to do something to draw all of the officers to one area so he could take them out at once. An idea came to him instantly as he pulled out a batarang then flung it hard, it flew through the air then hit the ground between the two officers stationed at the door and the copter pad.

Batman reached down and pressed a button on his belt, suddenly a noise could be heard coming from the batarang. He watched as seven officers on the roof started making their way towards the batarang and once they were close enough he pushed another button on his belt and smoke emitted out from the batarang, covering the officers in the smoke. Batman leapt off the roof then glided towards the GCPD roof. Once he was close enough he dropped down into the smokey area. He grabbed the nearest officer then slammed him down hard on the ground knocking him out cold. Turning his attention to the next two officers he grabbed them by the head and slammed them together knocking them out as well.

Unfortunately for Batman, the smoke dispersed and four remaining officers saw him standing there so they quickly turned their weapons on him. Batman stood there as he quickly weighted his options on how to take down the remaining officers before they could radio for backup. Out the corner of his eye he saw one of the officers reach for their radio so he knew he had to act now, without warning. He pulled out another object from his belt and flung it to the ground only to quickly pull his cape up as a flash of light erupted from the object temporarily blinding the officers.

Once the light died down Batman shot forward and grabbed the officer standing in front of him, and slipped around grabbing him from behind. He kicked the officer in the back of the knee making the officer drop his gun. He then pushed the officer forwards towards another officer who was attempting to wipe the spots from his eyes. Batman ran then leapt into the air kicking one officer in the face. He then wrapped his arm around the neck of the second officer taking him down as he fell to the ground. Batman quickly knocks the officer down with a right hook then turns to the other officer and kicks him in the face a second time knocking him out for good. Three officers remained. Batman pulled out the grapple gun again and pointed it at the officer in the center. He fired it. It caught the officer's vest. Batman pulled the trigger pulling the officer towards him and when the officer was close enough Batman hit the officer in the chest with a round house kick sending him flying backwards into the other officers knocking them all down.

Batman storms past the three officers then pulls open the door and walks inside. He looked at his options. There were stairs, an elevator or a ventilation shaft. Batman quickly eliminated the elevator. He knew that opened up to the bullpen where all the officers had their desks. His only options were the stairs or the vent. He was about to head for the stairs when voices could be heard so he quickly made his way to the vent and pulled the cover off, slipped inside and put the cover back in place behind him. He waited to see if the voices were coming his way as he continued onwards through the vent. As he made his way through and he heard two voices. One of the voices he recognized belonged to Sergeant Gordon but he couldn't place the second one that was until he got closer. It was Gordon's daughter Barbra and they were apparently having an argument.

"He's out there catching the criminals that Loeb lets walk free!" Barbra said with no love for the Commissioner.

"He's the worst kind of criminal. The kind who thinks their actions are justified… the one who acts completely outside the system" Gordon retorted.

"The system is broken dad can't you see that?" Barbra asked before storming out of the room.

Batman stared down then a second later started to move again. He kept moving until he came to the end of the shaft. He peered out through the vent and realized that he was looking at the hallway outside the Bullpen. Before he climbed out he heard footsteps coming closer so he stayed still. A pair of legs appeared and stopped right in front of him. Batman shot out of the vent and took the officer out from behind the legs then knocked him out with a right.

" _Must you be so brutal, Sir? These are city employees," Alfred said with concern in his voice._

"They're as corrupt as they come – and they're in my way." Batman replied through gritted teeth.

" _I wish you'd think twice about that approach sir. You never know when you might need their help."_ Alfred said.

Batman didn't respond as he killed the coms.

"Not very…" he starts to mutter under his breath only to stop when he sensed someone standing behind him. He turned to see Barbra standing there wide eyed looking at him.

"You… you're him" Barbra said in a whispering in shock.

Batman didn't respond although from the conversation he heard between Barbra and her father he did have a feeling he could trust that she wouldn't alert anyone about him being there. Knowing that Barbra wouldn't say anything he turned around and turned the communicator back on.

" _Have you found the server room yet sir?"_ Alfred asked.

"Not yet I…." he started to say only to be interrupted by Barbra.

"If you're looking for the server room it's on the other side of the building past the firing range," she said.

" _Master Bruce who…"_

Batman cut the communication then turned back to face the thirteen-year-old girl whose body tensed up when she saw the cold gaze she was getting from him.

"Sorry, but it was the only logical reason for you to be here right? I mean unless you're here to interrogate Falcone but that's not possible since he's been transferred to Blackgate" she said holding her hands together pointing downward, then nervously standing on her tiptoes and back down again. She was trying to ease the tension she was feeling from him.

Batman still didn't answer he was too deep in thought.

"But even if you do connect to the server that would only bypass the network's security. But then you'll need to physically bridge the internet to the external telecom wires if you want to uplink remotely" she said with raised eyebrows and a small smile, feeling slightly proud of her own tech knowledge.

Batman narrowed his eyes at her.

"That kind of knowledge could get you into a lot of trouble" he said.

"They run under the building" she said ignoring his remark.

Again Batman didn't say anything then pulled out his Pwnbox and held it out to her.

"Take this and connect it to the servers and I'll do the rest" he said.

Barbra looked at him in shock then slowly reached out and took the Pwnbox and slipped it into the front pocket of her jean jacket. When she looked up again she was shocked to see that Batman was gone and she was standing alone in the hallway. She looked around then made her way towards the service room. As she walked a nervous thought popped into her head about that she was about to do. Help a vigilante!

' _This is so exciting!'_ she excitedly thought with a huge grin and a little jump.

(!)

About two rooftops away from the GCPD stood Deadshot. He didn't need to worry about calling Mario for his next payment as the older Falcone boy had wired it into his account a minute before Deadshot pressed the speed dial button on his phone. He reached down and opened up the case that was at his feet. Flipped the lid open and pulled out his sniper rifle. He began to put the rifle together when he heard a commotion from the ground below. He peered down over the edge only to see a homeless man digging through the dumpster. Normally Deadshot would have gotten rid of the homeless man because he didn't want any witnesses, but then he remembered that this was Gotham City and nobody cared about the homeless. They were treated worse than the rats in the sewer.

Deadshot finished putting the rifle together and got down into position. He used his specialized targeting device to track the location of his target. He found the target near the window on the third floor. Totally unaware of being watched, Commissioner Loeb was sitting at his desk in his office eating a meatball sub. Deadshot rested his muscles then took a deep breath and put his pointer finger on the trigger, but as he pulled the trigger something hard and metallic struck his rifle knocking it sideways. The bullet broke the window of Loeb's office but missed the commissioner entirely. The sound of glass shattering and a loud thud against the wall behind his head completely startled him and made him fall down and go under his desk, dropping his sub all over the floor.

"What the fuc…." Deadshot started to say when suddenly Batman flew up into the air in front of him.

Batman landed almost on top of Deadshot and instantly went for a strike at Deadshot's head. However Deadshot quickly rolled out of the way making the vigilante hit the ground where the assassin once perched.

"How did you find me?" Deadshot asked with cool curiosity.

Batman didn't respond but he didn't have to, that's when both of them heard the sound of a small aircraft getting louder. They looked over to see a small drone coming towards them. Deadshot lifted up his wrist gauntlet and shot it down destroying it.

Batman took advantage of the distraction and leapt towards him but had to quickly move out of the way when Deadshot tried to kick at him. The assassin fired off both wrist gauntlets, which made Batman roll out of the way until he was hiding behind the Bulkhead leading back to the inside of the apartment. Batman waited until Deadshot stopped firing and started to reload when he jumped out from his hiding spot and flung two Batarangs hitting both wrist gauntlets. He ran then again launched himself into the air, this time tackling Deadshot to the ground. Batman raised his arm and went for a punch but just as he brought his fist down Lawton moved his head making Batman's fist hit the ground.

Deadshot tried to bring his wrist gauntlet up but Batman quickly grabbed his wrist and pushed it down but as he did Deadshot reached his free hand up and grabbed the back of Batman's head then brought it down so he head butted him hard. Deadshot then brought his feet up and put them on Batman's chest pushing Batman off and making the vigilante stumble backwards. The two men stared at each other both determined to beat the other. They ran at each other, Deadshot went for a punch but Batman blocked it then went for a punch of his own but like him Deadshot blocked the punch with his forearm then the two men kicked each other in the chest at the same time making them both fall backwards. They rolled backwards then jumped to their feet, Deadshot quickly brought up his left wrist gauntlet aiming it at Batman while Batman held a batarang in the air.

Before either man could move the door leading onto the roof was kicked open, Sergeant Gordon along with Detective Bullock and Officer Bennett stepped out with their guns raised pointed at both men.

"GCDP don't move" Gordon growled.

"Sorry Sergeant but no dice" Deadshot said then fired off his gauntlet, the bullet flew through and ricocheted off a brick and was going straight towards Gordon.

"NO!" Batman shouted.

Bennett acted quickly and jumped in front of Gordon taking the bullet in the shoulder before falling down to the ground. Batman retaliated by throwing his batarang lodging it in the barrel of Lawton's wrist gauntlet and when he tired firing again it exploded on him.

"Damn it" Deadshot growled.

Batman turned his attention to Officer Bennett who was doubled over in complete pain do to the bullet wound in his shoulder. He watched as both Gordon and Bullock grabbed Bennett moving back inside the apartment. Deadshot took the distraction as he lifted his only remaining wrist gauntlet.

"Bang!" he says then fires.

The bullet sailed through the air and ricocheted off a furnace pipe and struck Batman in the side of the head making the Gotham Vigilante stumble backwards then fall over the edge of the roof.

Batman fell through the air, he hit an air conditioner unit then he unintentionally rolled off falling again until he hit the ground knocking the wind out of him. He slowly reached down and tapped the com on his cowl as he did he could feel the blood oozing out of the wound on the side of his head.

"Al… Alfred… I…I need… Help," he said before losing consciousness.

(!)

Kate stared at the drink sitting in front of her. She grabbed the straw then began to stir the ice around. She was supposed to be meeting a blind date but the person had yet to show up. She dropped her hand around the glass then started to lift it when her phone buzzed. Letting out a sigh of annoyance she placed the glass back down and picked up the phone.

 _We need to talk- Dad_

"Not in this life time" Kate muttered to herself as she placed her phone back down on the counter next to her glass.

She glanced up at the clock on the wall then let out a scoff before downing the rest of the drink. She placed some bills on the counter and got up. She made her way to the door and started to open it when something caught her eye. Kate turned her head to see a male patron putting his hands unwontedly on the female server. Kate rolled her eyes then started making her way in their direction.

"Come on Melly, come home with me tonight and I'll show you a good time," the man slurred clearly drunk.

"Get off me Ronnie" female server now known as Melly said angrily as she slapped his hand away from her upper thigh.

Ronnie goes to grab her again but Kate catches his wrist then pushes it back at him.

"I believe the lady said hands off" Kate said.

Ronnie quickly got up to his feet but stumbled because he was drunk. He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and then took a swing at Kate who easily sidestepped him, making him crash face first into the nearest table. The impact from him hitting the table knocked him out cold.

Kate turned her attention away from Ronnie and back to his buddies who had remained seated at the table.

"Anyone else?" she asked.

A smirked crossed their lips when they shook their heads no. She picked her purse back up from the table nearby then made her way towards the door. The moment she stepped outside she felt the crisp airbrush against her skin, which gave her, a small jolt. Kate started making her way down the sidewalk heading towards were she lived.

"HEY BITCH!"

Kate stopped and turned to see Ronnie along with his boys making their way towards her. She folded her arms to her chest then waited for them to get closer.

"Well if isn't the Humpty Dumpty with Tweedledee and Tweedledum" Kate said with a smirk.

Ronnie raised his arm as if he was about to start swinging only to stop when the sound of an approaching car could be heard. The smirk on Kate's face grew slightly at the sight of the familiar car. The car came to a stop and a dark haired woman got out.

"This doesn't concern you…" Ronnie started to say but stopped when the woman held out a police badge.

"I'm making it my business now get lost before I take you downtown for harassment" the woman said sternly.

Kate mockingly waved at the three men as they walked away before turning her attention to the woman at the car.

"Well hello Officer Montoya" Kate said with smirk.

"Get in Kate" Renee said before getting back in her car.

Kate walked over and got in.

"My knight and shining armor" Kate said with a smirk but Renee only responded with a roll of her eyes before driving off.

 **Welp that's it for now. I will be writing Kate off in the next chapter and the ending to this chapter was to help set it up. I hope you all enjoyed the story and please make sure to drop a review and let me know what you all think.**

 **Up Next: Deadshot Part 2**


	7. Deadshot Part 2

**Everyone welcome back to The Batman, Part 2 of Deadshot's stor arc but this is not the last time you will see Mister Floyd Lawton as he will make another appearance later on in the story.**

 ***I don't own any Batman characters as they own by DC Comics.**

Bruce's eyes shot open he quickly sat up only to grab his head and moan when he felt sharp pain. The moment he grabbed his head he felt that it was wrapped with a bandage. He looked up at his surroundings to see that he was in the master bedroom in Wayne Manor. The door to the bedroom opened and Alfred walked in. The butler stopped when he saw that Bruce was awake.

"Oh thank goodness your awake Mister Wayne" Alfred said with a sigh of relief.

"How bad is it?" Bruce asked.

"You were lucky, the bullet only grazed the side of your head and no permanent damage was done" Alfred replied as he walked over and held out some aspirin along with a glass of water to Bruce who accepted it slowly.

Bruce popped the aspirin into his mouth then downed the entire glass of water.

"And the cowl?" He asked.

Alfred didn't respond although he did give Bruce a look, which the young Wayne took as that the cowl could be fixed but it wouldn't make much difference if the situation happed again.

"I think it's time I rethink the suit," Bruce said.

"That is something we can both agree on Mister Wayne" came a voice from the doorway.

Bruce turned his head and a small smirk crossed his lips when he saw Lucius standing in the doorway of his bedroom. Bruce pushed the covers off and swung his legs over and placed them on the wooden floor of the bedroom, out the corner of his eye he saw Alfred stepping towards him so he put his hand up stopping his old friend. The moment Bruce was fully standing is when he truly felt how sore his entire body was after falling off the roof of the apartment.

"So does this mean what I think it means?" Bruce asked Lucius.

"Like I was going to say the day you got shot…" Lucius started to say only to be cut off by Bruce.

"Wait, how long was I out for?" Bruce asked Alfred.

"Thirty seven hours sir" Alfred replied.

Bruce stood there in silence before speaking.

"I'm sorry Lucius please continue" Bruce said.

"I realized that one man couldn't entirely save the city himself, but with the right help, I believe that maybe he has a fighting chance so yes Mister Wayne, I will help you by supplying any tools or gadgets you require. To start things off I brought something with me that may prove more useful for you now" Lucius said.

"Maybe we should take this downstairs," Bruce said with a smirk.

(!)

"You're fully committed to the whole bat thing," Lucius said as the three men stepped off the elevator into the Batcave.

Bruce watched as Lucius walked around the cave checking things out including taking a stop at the computer, which he booted up.

"Mister Wayne you need some serious upgrades to your security and software, among other things of course" Lucius said.

"I'm sure you are more than capable of handling it Mister Fox?" Bruce replied with a smirk.

"Of course" Lucius said then started to get to work.

Bruce walked over to the glass case that was holding the suit he had been wearing the last night he was out. He noticed a few tears in the suit. He also noticed the side of the cowl that was cut by the bullet that grazed his head. He shook his head then turned to the next case, which was no longer empty, but now holding the suit that he had seen at Wayne Corp. but this time there were some modifications to the suit. The suit was now a dark grey and located on the chest was a larger bat symbol than the one that was on the prototype suit. As he stared at the suit he knew that he would be ready when he and the assassin faced off again.

(!)

Floyd leaned back in the chair he was sitting in. He was twirling a pen between his fingers as he stared at the screen before him. He was sitting in his safe house, which was located in an abandoned building underground. In front of him sat three small tables, the table to his left was his work area, the table in front of him was his computer and monitors so he could see all of Gotham. The table on his right had the case holding his sniper rifle and a mannequin head holding his mask. He was watching the footage from his fight with the vigilante.

' _Whoever I fought that night was good'_ Floyd thought to himself as he watched the footage and when it came to the part where Batman fell off the ledge of the building that's when Floyd paused the footage. He stopped twirling the pen for a brief moment then without warning spun around in his chair then threw the pen, it sailed through the air then stuck into the wall. A scared young girl sat on the ground in shock at what had just transpired.

"What the hell man?" she said.

"Shouldn't sneak up on people like that Z." Floyd said turning back to the computer.

Zalika is an African girl who grew up in the Korogocho slums of Kenya. She worked for a gang in the slum as a hacker, she was a contract that Floyd was suppose to take out but instead decided that she would be more useful working with him so he faked her death and brought her back with him to America, more notably back to Gotham. They had made a deal that she would help him carry out his contracts by locating them and he would teach her the English language and how to survive on her own in case something were to happen to him.

The girl got up off the floor then made her way over to where Floyd was sitting.

"Who's Dracula?" she asked seeing the image on the screen.

"He's being called The Batman by the papers, but no one's really gotten a real good glimpse of him until that night" Floyd replied as he pointed to the screen showing their fight.

"So he stopped you from taking out Loeb so what now?" she asked him.

Floyd looked down at the notepad in front of him he still had a few more targets before he could be completely done with the job, and free.

"Loeb can be dealt with by someone else so we move on to the next target" Floyd said as he got up from the chair so Zalika could sit down.

"So who's next?" she asked.

Floyd walked over and picked up his mask and slipped it on over his head before responding.

"Carl Beaumont."

(!)

Bruce, Alfred and Lucius emerged from the cave walking back into the library when the doorbell rang. The three men looked at each other. Bruce moved to close the entrance to the cave while Alfred made his way to the front door. Just as the clock clicked back into place Alfred returned with an angry Andrea right behind him. Bruce was confused at first then the realization hit him like a ton of bricks because he was unconscious for thirty-seven hours he had missed the party Andrea's father had been throwing.

"Andrea… I'm sorry and I would've called but…." Bruce started to say only for Alfred to interrupt.

"Master Wayne was in an accident on the account of the wrap around his head" Alfred said.

"Oh Bruce" Andrea's face changed into a look of concern and she ran over and engulfed him in a hug.

Bruce looked over at Alfred and nodded his head towards his old friend thanking him for the save, which Alfred replied with a nod of his own.

Andrea stepped back to get a good look at Bruce. She reached up and touched the wrap but then glanced down and her eyes met Bruce's who was staring at her.

Both Alfred and Lucius saw what was going on between the two so they quietly stepped out of the room without alerting the couple.

"I'm sorry about missing your father's party… I really wanted to be there for you" Bruce said with concern.

"Don't worry about it, my father always throws parties especially when it comes to raising money for charity" Andrea said with a smirk.

Silence filled the room then slowly the two started to lean in towards each other, the moment their lips touched it felt like electricity was flowing through them. Bruce wrapped his arms around Andrea's waist pulling her towards him. After a few more minutes Andrea was the one who slowly pulled away from the embrace.  
"As much as I want this to continue, I have to head home. My father is throwing one of his charity dinner parties tonight" Andrea said.

"What time?" Bruce asked.

Andrea smirked.

"Tonight at six…" she leaned in and kissed Bruce again before pulling away, "Don't be late" she whispered into his ear before turning and walking out of the room.

Bruce stood there with a smile on his face but the moment Andrea was out of sight that's when the smile vanished. If he wanted to keep his promise with Andrea this time then he needed to take down the assassin before the assassin could take out his next target. Bruce walked over and opened the glass cover of the grandfather clock and after moving the clock hands into the correct position he closed the cover and stepped back allowing the grandfather clock to slide out of the way. He stepped inside then made his way down the stairs going straight to the computer. He quickly booted up the computer and pulled up the footage from the fight with the assassin.

"I had wondered where you had wondered off to Master Wayne" Alfred said as he walked down the stairs with a tray with a cup of tea sitting on it. "So how do you plan on finding the assassin?" Alfred asked.

Bruce didn't reply. He pulled up the National Criminal Database since he had succeeded in bridging the Internet to the external telecom wires thanks to the advice he had gotten from Barbra Gordon. He typed in the information about cases involving poison being found in the victims bodies. Multiple results came up, but only about sixty-five percent of them had the victim killed by a bullet.

"Anything Master Wayne?" Alfred asked.

A photo of a dark skinned man popped up on the screen.

"His name is Floyd Lawton a.k.a. Deadshot. It says here he's an expert sharpshooter. Suspected of many assassinations." Bruce said.

"And how do you suppose you're going find Mister Lawton?" Alfred asked.

Bruce pulled up something else on the computer, a map of Gotham with a blinking red dot.

"You placed a tracker on him?" Alfred asked him.

"During the fight I was able to place a tracker on one of his wrist gauntlets and thankfully it's still working after I damaged the gauntlet" Bruce said.

"Now what sir?" Alfred asked.

Bruce didn't reply as he turned around and made his way towards the large glass case. He pulled open the door and then grabbed the cowl.

(!)

Zalika stared at the screen as she mapped out the perfect exit point for Deadshot after he took care of his contract. She continued to hack into the Beaumont mansion computer and saw everything that security saw. Zalika looked over at the second screen that showed the security feed of the hideout and when she didn't see anything, she turned her body and picked up the bowl of apple spice oatmeal she had made in the kitchen. The moment she stepped out of the room the security feed of the hideout went black only to come back on, now maybe to the untrained eye that would have gone unnoticed but to a train hacker who has hacked into her fair share of security feeds, Zalika noticed something was off the moment she reentered the room.

She quickly made her way over to the computer and started typing away at the keyboard but stopped suddenly when she thought she felt a pair of eyes staring a hole into the back of her head. She slowly turned around and her eyes widened in shock when she saw The Batman standing before her. Zalika didn't say anything as she slowly stepped backwards towards the desk. She reached behind her under the desk to push the button but stopped when her fingers twitched. _'No… not now'_ she thought to herself. The twitch was a recurring thing for the young girl, she didn't know what made her twitch at random moments but it usually happened to her under stressful situations.

"Where is Deadshot?" Batman asked stepping forward.

"You're too late… he's already going for his next target" Zalika replied with failed confidence.

Batman's eyes narrowed which only scared her more then suddenly he reached out to grab her so she closed her eyes but when she didn't feel him grab her that's when she reopened her eyes only to be shocked to see that she was no longer in the bunker or in Gotham City.

"What the hell?" she muttered to herself before pulling out her cell phone.

Batman stared in confusion when Zalika disappeared in front of him. He knew that he hadn't been drugged nor did she activate any security measures to help her escape. He looked around but soon realized that she had somehow escaped, but she was no longer his concern for the moment, he needed to find out who Deadshot's next target was. He stepped forward then looked down at the pad in front of the computer. The moment he saw the name that was circled he turned on his heels and ran out of the room.

(!)

Andrea looked down at the watch on her wrist a frown appeared on her face when she saw the time. The party was in full swing and once again Bruce had yet to arrive. She turned her head at the sound of footsteps only to be disappointed when she saw it was one of the waiters that her father had hired coming out of the kitchen. She let out a sigh then started making her way to back to the ballroom when suddenly she bumped into someone.

"I'm so sorry" she said.

"Don't worry about it Andrea" the person replied.

Her head shot up to see Kate standing in front of her.

"Miss Kane, I'm sorry I thought you were your cousin," she said.

"Let me guess Brucie has yet to show up?" Kate said.

Andrea nodded her head.

"Typical man…. That's why I don't waste my time on them," Kate teased.

Andrea smirked.

The front door opened and Bruce stepped inside then closed the door behind him. He looked around before spotting Andrea chatting with Kate. He walked over and placed a hand on Andrea's arm catching her attention.

"Well look who decided to show up," Kate said in a teasing manner.

Bruce ignored his cousin who walked off when she saw a waiter carrying a tray of champagne glasses walk past them.

"Sorry I'm late" he said sincerely.

"At least this time you showed up" Andrea replied before pecking him on the lips.

As they separated from their kiss, they saw Andrea's father Carl walking out of the ballroom looking for his daughter. But before Carl could reach them, a man intercepted him.

Bruce was watching closely ready to intervene and was calmed when he noticed that it wasn't Lawton but he also knew that Lawton didn't need to be close to hit his target.

"Who's the man your father is talking too?" Bruce whispered to Andrea who looked over at her father.

"That scum is Salvatore "The Wheezer" Valestra and if he's here that means his buddies Charles Sol and Buzz Bronski can't be far behind" Andrea said with disgust.

Bruce turned his body to face Andrea who was still facing toward her father.

"Is your father accepting money from the mob?" he asked knowing that the three men that Andrea had mention were leaders of their respective mob families.

Andrea shook her head.

"No, he would never allow dirty money anywhere near his company or his charity events" Andrea replied.

Bruce stared at her, reading her face hoping that she was telling him the truth. A look of relief came over him when hadn't see her do any of the six signs of lying. He was about to say something when a red light caught his eye. He quickly turned his head to see a red dot on Carl's chest.

"Bruce?" Andrea said confused when Bruce bolted off towards her father and Valestra.

"EVERYONE DOWN!" Bruce shouted as he tackled both Carl and Salvatore to the ground just as a bullet hit the window behind where the three men were laying, shattering it.

Bruce laid top of the both men until he was sure that Deadshot wasn't going to attempt another shot at Carl. He quickly got his feet then helped Carl to his own feet leaving a shaken Valestra down on the ground. Bruce didn't say anything nor did he acknowledge Andrea's father when he thanked him for saving his life he was focused on the shattered window as he walked over to it.

"Bruce what the hell was that?" asked Kate as she ran out of the ballroom after hearing the commotion.

"Kate call 911" he said then before she could say anything he walked off leaving the chaos behind.

He stepped outside of Beaumont Manor then made his way over to his car where Alfred was waiting for him. As he drew closer, Alfred popped the trunk revealing a case, which Bruce quickly took then walked off into the shadows.

(!)

Deadshot's van sped down the street. As he drove he would regularly glance up into the rearview mirror to check and see if he was being followed by the GCPD. He let out a growl of irritation when his phone went off. Without taking his eyes off the road he reached down and picked it up.

"What Z?" he said almost barking at her.

" _Batman found the base, he knows you're going after Beaumont"_ Zalika said.

"That doesn't matter anymore, where are you?" Deadshot asked.

" _Um…. I don't know"_ she replied.

"What do you mean you don't know?" Deadshot spat in annoyance.

" _I don't know cuz I'm not in Gotham anymore Auntie Em!"_ Zalika snapped back.

Deadshot took a deep breath before answering again.

"Try an figure it out, I'm heading to the airport now so I'll call you when I get…" he started to say only to stop when he heard the engine of a motorcycle behind him so he glanced at his rear view mirror. It was Batman, right behind him. "Shit" he muttered then quickly hung up his phone and tossed it onto the seat next to him.

He rolled down his driver side window and pointed his arm out of the window then fired off his wrist gauntlet. The bullet flew through the air and ricocheted off a light pole and struck the front wheel of Batman's motorcycle. Deadshot pulled his arm back inside the van then watched as the motorcycle went out of control then fell down and slid on the ground. A smirk crossed Deadshot's lips as he thought he had gotten away a free man when suddenly something dropped down over the windshield. His point of view is blinded and he is forced to swerve around on the road to try and dislodge whatever is on the windshield, but he crashes into a light pole. Deadshot pushed open the door and stumbled out. He slammed the door closed and looked over at the windshield but saw nothing there, which only meant one thing.

"I know you're here Bats… show yourself," Deadshot shouted. A scowl appeared on his face when he didn't get a response. "What's wrong afraid that I'll finish the job this time?" Deadshot gloated trying to get under Batman's skin.

Suddenly Batman came flying over the van and struck Deadshot in the side of the head with his knee. Batman tucked and rolled as he hit the ground before getting to his feet. Deadshot who was crouched down on the ground raised both of wrist gauntlets, but before he could fire them Batman threw two batarangs that became lodged in the barrels of the gauntlets. Deadshot cussed under his breath and pulled the gauntlets off his wrists. He quickly pulled out duo pistols and started firing at Batman who ran then slid over the hood of a car taking cover as the car took the bullets for him. Batman knew that the car wasn't going to protect him forever since all Deadshot was going to need was one good shot and he would be done.

Deadshot kept firing as he walked closer to the car. He ran out of bullets when he got five feet away from the car so he quickly reloaded then walked over to the back of the car. He counted to five in his head then spun around to the other side of the car only to find no one hiding there. Deadshot growled then started to walk away when he saw something out the corner of his eye. He turned and that's when he saw a black cape. He turned and started firing again but as Deadshot drew closer that's when he realized that he was indeed shooting at Batman's cape and that's it. It was just his cape. Deadshot stopped firing. He reached out and grabbed the cape but as he pulled on it that's when he saw it was snagged on something. He pulled harder only for a trap to be activated and two flash bang grenades went off.

"AHHH!" Deadshot shouted in rage as the bright light blinded him.

He reached up and pulled off his mask and tossed it to the ground and began to rub his eyes.

Batman appeared behind Deadshot and reached out to grab him but Deadshot heard him so he spun around and brought one of the pistols up but Batman quickly caught Deadshot's arm just as the assassin pulled the trigger. The bullets flew by the side of Batman's head. The Gotham Vigilante pushed Deadshot's arm away but Deadshot quickly brought up the other pistol and fired but Batman quickly moved his head, barely dodging the bullet as it was fired out of the gun. Deadshot went to kick Batman but the Vigilante blocked the kick with one of his own. Deadshot went to fire at Batman again but Batman grabbed his wrist, before he could do anything else Deadshot struck him in the side of the head with the butt of his pistol, making Batman stumble. The assassin took advantage of this and grabbed Batman by the back of his head then slammed it down on the car next to them.

Deadshot followed that by kicking Batman in the chest. He went to punch Batman but the Gotham Vigilante blocked the attack and grabbed Deadshot's head and head butt him. Still holding the stunned Deadshot he flipped him up into the air and brought him down, back first into the windshield of the car. He ended the fight when he knocks Deadshot out with a punch to the face. Batman walked over and picked up his cape and reattaches it before leaving the scene using the grapple gun just as GCPD cruisers pull around the corner.

(!)

Kate had left the Beaumont Mansion the moment the GCPD had arrived after a gunman had apparently attempted to murder Andrea's father. She could've gone back to her apartment and gotten a good nights sleep but that's not who Kate was. She was more of a stay out all night and get the party on woman. She was currently walking to a bar she frequented. She stopped after she past her third alleyway. She looked around at her surroundings. _'Am I going the right way?'_ she thought to herself before stumbling a little. The three shots she took after all the commotion were starting to affect her.

"Well, well if it isn't the bitch from last night" came a familiar voice.

Kate turned her head to look down the dimly lit alleyway to see Ronnie standing there with his boys.

Kate snickered at the sight of them.

"What's so funny?" one of his friends growled.

"Trust me you don't want to know what I'm thinking," she slurred slightly chuckling.

Ronnie and his boys looked at each other with smiles plastered across their faces then started making their way towards where Kate was standing.

"Ah, I think I know why that cute waitress from last night didn't want any from you" Kate said with dopey smile on her face.

"Oh yeah, why's that?" Ronnie asked, as he got closer.

"Cause you got a tiny dick" Kate said with a smirk.

The scowl on Ronnie's face deepened at the remark then he stormed forward but just as he got close enough, Kate military training kicked in. She drunkenly swung out her fist to sock Ronnie in the jaw but the larger man was able to catch her fist easily. Ronnie pulled Kate close to him but just as he did, Kate brought her knee up catching him right between his legs. Ronnie released his hold on Kate and doubled over in pain from the kick. Kate was pushed back by Ronnie and lost her footing and fell on her butt.

Ronnie's boys stalk towards her when suddenly Batman dropped down in front of Ronnie with his back to Kate who was in shock at the moment upon seeing the Gotham Vigilante in front of her. Ronnie stood back up and without hesitation he curled his hand into a fist and swung at Batman who grabbed Ronnie's fist and using his strength flung the heavy set man flying into the front of the dumpster landing on his head.

Kate then watched as The Batman made quick work of Ronnie's buddies leaving all of them on the ground groaning in pain. She looked up as Batman walked over to her and offered her his hand. The shock she felt turned into anger at the realization of how weak she felt that someone had to save her from something that she could've handled herself if she hadn't been wasted on booze. She looked up at him in anger then slapped his hand away and got to her feet and stared at him. Batman's eyes narrowed.

"You're welcome" he said as he walked past then pulled out his grapple gun then flew up into the air leaving her standing there alone.

Kate watched as Batman disappeared into the night sky. She watched and felt inspired somehow. She turned and started walking out of the alleyway. As she did she pulled out her phone and dialed a number she didn't expect to dial. She put the phone to ear and heard the dial tone. She stopped just short of the exit of the alley when she heard the person on the other end pick up.

"Hey dad…. We need to talk," she said.

(!)

Floyd sat in the interrogation room. His hands handcuffed to the metal ring on the side of the table were he sat. He was waiting for a GCPD officer to walk into the room and attempt to question him. He glanced over at the clock on the wall then to the window where he knew he was being watched by those too scared to come near him. A few more minutes past before the door finally swung open and Gordon walked in followed closely by Bullock. Lawton watched as Gordon took the seat across from him while Bullock took a spot up against the wall.

"Floyd Lawton, you've been suspected of killing multiple people although you were never fully connected to the murders." Gordon said as he flipped open the file that he brought in with him.

Floyd continued to stare at Gordon with a blank expression.

"We were able to connect you to the murder of William Earles, the CEO of Wayne Corp. and the attempted assassination of Commissioner Joseph Leob and Carl Beaumont" Gordon said as he laid three pictures out in front of Lawton who didn't even glance at the photos.

Bullock was starting to lose patience with Floyd's quite act.

"We just want to know who..." Gordon started to say only to be interrupted when Bullock slammed his fists down into the table.

"Tell us who hired you" Bullock growled.

Floyd turned his head slowly to look at Bullock. He replied to the detective's question with a smirk before turning his attention back to Gordon. Bullock was about to say something but Gordon cut him off.

"Harvey go get us some coffee," Gordon said to his partner.

Bullock replied with a few swears under his breath before walking out of the room leaving Gordon and Floyd alone. Gordon stared at Lawton again then slid the chair back and stood up. He started making his way towards the door.

"And here I thought you cops were supposed to be great detectives" Floyd said breaking the silence and catching Gordon's attention. " I'm not going to tell you who hired me because that would be bad for business but I will give you a hint... When Carmine was running things, how many bodies dropped? But now that he's behind bars they started dropping like flies? It appears to me that Carmine had someone on a tight leash when it came to making some brash decisions," Floyd said looking directly at Gordon.

Gordon's eyes widened when he got what Floyd was saying so he nodded his head at Lawton the opened the door. When he was gone that's when a uniformed officer walked in to escort Lawton to a holding cell.

(!)

A figure landed on the roof of the Gotham Historical Museum. They sprinted over to the nearest skylight then peered down through the glass and smiled when they saw the item they had come for was directly below them. The figure flicked their fingers and claws on their fingertips popped out. They reached out and proceeded to use the claws to cut the lock on the skylight. Once it was cut, they lifted it up and set it aside. The figure dropped down and landed effortlessly on the light fixture. The thief looked around then stopped when they saw a beam of light from a flashlight rounding the corner to their right. The thief waited in their hiding spot until the security guard walked around the corner. The thief watched as the guard walked over and stood right below their hiding spot. The thief dropped down and wrapped their legs around the guard's throat and used them to knock him out cold.

Once the guard was unconscious the thief released their hold a little and lowered the guard down to the ground. After lowering themselves down, the thief stepped over the fallen body of the guard and made their way towards the jeweled cat that they had come for. The thief placed their hand on the glass case and smiled before using one of their fingers to trace a circle on the side of the case then reached in and grabbed the jeweled cat. The thief pulled it out and studied their new prized possession with a huge smirk.

"Time to go home my precious," she whispered to the statue.

 **Thanks for reading everyone, drop a review letting me know what you all think.**

 **Next Chapter- The Bat and The Cat**


	8. The Bat and The Cat

**Hello everyone, so yes I'm finally back with another chapter for The Batman, now if you read my Power Ranger's story then you know why I haven't updated for a while. Yes writer's block play a huge part especially for this story but the other main reason why I haven't updated in a while is that back in November I was diagnosed with Defused Large Cell Lymphoma stage 4 and just recently completed my fourth round of chemo but before that I had done a PET Scan as a check up since I am half-way through my chemo anyways the scan came back clear now even after my final two chemo sessions I need to have check ups before I'm considered in the clear for sure but enough about that here is the next chapter please enjoy.**

 ***I don't own anything Batman or DC Comics related except for Parker Andrews who is my OC.**

Bruce pushed open the doors to the GCPD. He looked around then his eyes landed on the one person he hoped had the answers he was looking for. He walked over to where Sergeant Gordon and Detective Bullock were standing by their respective desks.

"Ah, Mister Wayne thank you for coming as soon as you could" Gordon said when he saw Bruce.

"Well when you called saying you had an update on my parent's case I came as fast as I could." Bruce replied hoping that Gordon would get straight to the point of why he was there.

Gordon and Bullock exchanged looks before Gordon spoke again.

"The man who killed your parents, his name is Joe Chill" Gordon said.

Bruce stood there confused. _'Joe Chill? Why does that name sound familiar?'_ he thought to himself only to be broken out of his thoughts when Gordon spoke again.

"The reason why we called you down here is because Joe Chill's body was found just a few hours ago lying on the steps of GCPD" Gordon said.

Bruce's eyes widen in shock. The man who murdered his parents had been found, but dead. Bruce felt conflicted he was happy that his parent's killer had been found but being murdered wasn't the justice he had always thought the man would get. He felt anger rising up inside.

"Anything… anything else Sergeant?" Bruce said tersely not wanting to give away the emotion boiling up inside.

"Um…. Oh yeah, this was found attached to the body, addressed to you." Gordon empathetically said as he held out an envelope to Bruce.

"Thank you," Bruce said as he took it and turned to walk out of the bullpen.

He went straight into the lobby of the GCPD. Bruce stood there for a moment as he tried to compose himself. He pulled out the envelope from his jacket pocket then with a sigh of hesitation he ripped it open and pulled out the small card that was inside. The front of the card had gold trim around the edges and in the middle of the card what was appeared to be an owl. He flipped the card over and saw writing that said,

 _Justice has been served on the one whom did you wrong_

 _So in return we ask you to leave us to do our bidding in the future._

 _-The Court_

Bruce stared at the note. _Justice was served? Leave us to do our bidding? The Court?_ Bruce was confused, who were The Court? Were they implying they knew he was Batman? So many thoughts were going through his mind that it took Bruce a moment to realize what he hearing from the two officers near him.

"Yeah, apparently last night there was a robbery at the Gotham Historical Museum, that new jeweled cat stature that was brought over from Europe" one officer said.

"I know, the officers who arrived on the scene said that whoever did it must've been casing the place for weeks, because they knew the exact placement of the guards and the security system" the second officer said.

Bruce put the card from The Court into his pocket and turned and walked out of the GCPD with the newly acquired information.

(!)

Bruce entered the Batcave and went directly towards the computer. He sat in silence as he pulled up the security footage from the museum the previous night. He sat there watching the footage when Alfred walked up to his left carrying a tray which he placed down next to Bruce.

"A thief that dresses like a cat?" Alfred said as he watched the footage with Bruce. He turned to look at the young Wayne. "Next we'll be seeing reports about a man that looks like a clown," Alfred said dryly.

Bruce gave Alfred a look before turning back to look at the footage once again.

"The police were right, the thief must've cased the museum for a while, the way they were able to know the location of each security guard in the building." Bruce said pointedly.

"Well it does appear that they did miss this camera" Alfred said gesturing to the camera they were watching the footage from.

"No, it's not luck…. They knew it was there and did it on purpose," Bruce said.

Bruce cut the feed then turned to face his old friend.

"How's Ethan doing?" Bruce asked.

"Mister Bennett, who is bloody lucky he was wearing his vest is doing all right, should be back on the job in a few weeks" Alfred replied.

"Anything else?" Bruce asked as he picked up the cup of tea sitting on the tray next to him.

"Yes, in fact the board at Wayne Corp. called… they have a meeting planned for today and if you plan on taking control back of your father's company, then I suggest that is the time to do it" Alfred said.

Bruce replied with a nod before taking another sip of tea.

(!)

A figure landed on the balcony of a penthouse. They slid the glass door open and stepped inside. They walked over and placed the cat statue down on the table before reaching up and pulling their mask off over their head to reveal a woman's face. The woman's name was Selina Kyle, who since the age of ten has had a knack for stealing various priceless items. She would steal and keep the jewels or would sell them allowing her to live in the penthouse she currently occupied. Selina dropped the mask onto the ground and started making her way to the bedroom. As she entered, she pulled the zipper on the front of her suit down only to stop when she realized that she wasn't in her bedroom alone. Standing near her bed were two geisha women, they wore black wigs and green dresses.

Selina's eyes narrowed at the sight of the strange women before spinning around as she heard the bedroom door slamming shut behind her. Standing there in front of the door was a short little man wearing a black tuxedo, his greasy orange hair hidden underneath a top hat. A monocle poised before his right eye. Selina didn't need the man to introduce himself, she knew who he was, in fact everyone in Gotham knew who he was. His name was Oswald Cobblepot, he was the owner of the Iceberg Lounge but almost everyone knew that was just a front for his criminal operations.

"What do I owe this pleasure Oswald?" she said with a small sneer in her voice.

The small round man stepped forward with a slick smile on his face.

"I'm here to a make a business deal with you kitten" Oswald replied his words sounding like oozing slime.

Selina stepped back sideways so she could keep both eyes on Cobblepot and the two women standing beside her bed.

"You see we both have a mutual threat that threatens the way we make our living" Cobblepot continued watching Selina's every move.

Selina rolled her eyes, she knew exactly what he was talking about.

"A mutual threat? It appears he's only interested criminal mob bosses like Falcone, while thieves appear to be too low on his to-do list" Selina replied trying to brush his concerns off. "So, unless you have something else to say to me bird boy then fly away," she said flipping her arm as if swatting a fly before turning to walk into her bathroom.

"That was the case until the footage of you stealing that statue currently sitting in your living room went public" Oswald said making Selina stop in her tracks. "I mean you did manage to avoid all the cameras didn't you?" Oswald said in a mocking voice with a smirk.

Selina stepped towards him in a quick, threatening manner to only be stopped by the two geisha women Cobblepot had brought as his bodyguards moved in front of her stopping her from attacking their boss.

"You're on the Bat's radar now kitten" Oswald said looking around her bedroom nonchalantly.

Selina stepped back but continued to send a glare at the obese birdman.

"What do I have to do?" she asked coldly.

"Simple, led the Bat on a chase to the docks and my people will take it from there" Oswald said before he and the two geisha women turned and walked out of Selina's bedroom leaving her there frustrated with what had just transpired.

(!)

"You said over the phone that you needed something besides the bike you've been using?" Lucius said as he and Bruce walked along side by side.

"Yes, the bike is nice but I need something with a little more protection while I'm on the streets, and maybe something with more than two wheels so it will actually stay on the road rather then crash into a building." Bruce replied.

Lucius nodded his head understanding what Bruce was talking about.

"Well, I think I have a idea but it will take some time to get everything sorted out of course" Lucius said.

Bruce nodded his head then they came to a stop outside the boardroom of Wayne Corp. He was there to attend a meeting that was being held about the future of Wayne Corp as a company. He fixed his tie then pulled open the door and stepped inside. He wasn't surprised to see a familiar man standing at the front of the room talking to some of the board members. The man was none other than Luthor Corp. CEO and owner Lionel Luthor.

"Bruce Wayne" Lionel said as he stepped forward to greet the young Wayne.

"Lionel Luthor, you're a little far from Metropolis" Bruce replied.

"Well, when I heard about Mister Earle's unfortunate death I came over as soon as I could to offer my condolences and to see what I could do to help with the company of course" Lionel responded.

"I think Wayne Corps will do just fine" Bruce said, Lionel smiled at the comment.

"Well we'll just let the board decided who's a better fit to lead to this company into the future shall we?" Lionel said with confidence.

"Shall we be seated?" asked one of the board members.

Everyone started making their way to their seats when the door to the boardroom opened and a young man walked in. The man was around the age of twenty-eight, light skinned with short dark brown hair and ocean blue eyes. The man was wearing a pair of glasses that were slightly too big for him as he had to occasionally push them up.

"Sor… sorry to inttterrupt" the man said nervously.

"Who are you?" one of the board members asked.

"My… my name is…. Is Parker Andrews an… and I am the Wayne Family attorney" the man now known as Parker replied.

"Excuse me but we're about to start a meeting here" Lionel said speaking up, clearly annoyed by the sudden interruption.

"Well…. You see sir, I was going over my predecessor's files and I… well found something that has been, what I _assume_ has been missing" Parker replied shaking as he pulled his bag off his shoulder and placed it on the table. He quickly unzipped the bag and pulled out a folder. "I was able to locate the will of Thomas Wayne" Parker said as he walked over and handed the file to Bruce who accepted it.

Bruce flipped open the file and started reading the paper.

"What does this have to do with anything?" Lionel asked.

"In the will Mister Wayne left all of his belongs to his son and he also named his son as heir to Wayne Corps making him the owner of the company" Parker replied.

Bruce stared at the document without saying anything. He couldn't believe what he was hearing and seeing. Everything was happening so fast, first the news regarding his parents' murder and now according to the piece of the paper in his hand, his family's company was his.

"I'm sorry but for all we know you could've faked the will" Lionel said standing up from his chair getting angrier at the moment.

The posture of Parker changed quickly, he turned sharply and stared directly at Lionel with narrowed eyes.

"I take my job very seriously Mister Luthor. I checked the authenticity of the will and had someone I trusted to check as well and it is very legit so as of right now, Mister Wayne is in charge" Parker said with confidence and joy as he had put someone as powerful as Lionel Luthor in his place regarding a legal matter.

Bruce watched as Lionel stormed out of the room slamming the door shut behind him. He peeled his eyes off the door then looked down again at the paper. He did it… well actually his father did it. It made one last miracle happen, despite no longer being with him, his father still managed to help him.

For once something was going right for Bruce.

(!)

"I believe congratulations are in order Mister Wayne" Alfred said as the two of them made their way down the steps into the cave.

"Thanks Alfred, the first thing I plan on doing is changing the damn name" Bruce replied as he stepped into the room to change into his batsuit.

Meanwhile, Alfred walked over to the Batcomputer and booted it up. Once it was done he pulled up the surveillance video from the heist, then pulled up multiple news reports regarding similar crimes that have happened not only in Gotham but in other cities as well.

"It appears this Catwoman has a thing for stealing anything that is cat related" Alfred said as Bruce walked up behind him.

"Do we have any idea of where she might strike next?" Bruce asked.

"Indeed, we do sir" Alfred replied before pulling up an article from the Gotham Gazette about an Egyptian exhibit that was going to open tomorrow night. "And the main attraction just happens to be the Pharaoh's cat" Alfred said.

"Hack into the museum's cameras and the ones around the area, keep me posted on everything you see" Bruce said as he pulled on his cowl then turned and started making his way to his Batcycle.

(!)

Catwoman dropped down onto the rooftop of the Gotham National History Museum. She slowly made her way over to one of the skylight windows. She peered down through the window and smiled when she saw the object of her affections for tonight. Catwoman lifted her hand flicked her wrist revealing her claws, she placed her hand on the window and proceeded to carve a circle on the glass. She pushed the circle in then caught it before it could fall setting off the alarms. She reached her hand in through the hole and unlocked the window.

She lifted the window up and slipped inside. Looking around and she sees the cameras that she had seen when she was there earlier in the day. Catwoman slowly made her way over to the first camera and placed a small device on it. She waited a few minutes then pressed a button on her belt then waited another few moments before dropping down onto the ground. She made her way over to the display case holding the Pharaoh's cat. She placed her hand on the display case and started walking around it in a circle. She made her way back to the front of the display case then like the skylight window she traced a circle in the glass.

Catwoman pushed the circle into the inside of the display case then reached inside and wrapped her hand around the neck of the statue. She lifted it up and turned it sideways before pulling it forward out of the display case. Catwoman looked at the statue with a smile on her face. She pulled her whip out from around her waist then twirled it around before flicking her wrist upwards, the whip wrapped itself around the light fixture. _'These museums really need to work on their security'_ Catwoman thought as she pulled herself up towards the window she came in from. She then swung her body out of the window. She pulled her whip back to her then after wrapping it back around her waist she closed the window.

"I'm only going to say this once... Put it back."

Catwoman quickly spun around to see Batman standing across from her. She coyly smiled then starts making her way over to where he was standing. Swaying her hips as she walked hoping to get some sort of reaction from the Gotham Vigilante. She reached up and placed a hand on Batman's chest. She dragged her hand down his chest only stopping when she reached his utility belt.

"Sorry handsome but kitty is coming home with me" she said.

Then before Batman could react, she brought her right hand up and slashed him the face with her claws before taking off running across the rooftop.

Batman wasted no time running after her.

(!)

Batman chased Catwoman all the way to the Amusement Mile were the docks were located. He didn't think anything of it at first, but then he realized something, and it was pissing him off. He watched as Catwoman reached the last rooftop before reaching the docks and she leapt down from the roof to the streets below. He ran and did the same landing on the ground behind her.

"It's over" he growled.

"You're right handsome…." She said as she turned around to face him. "Not for me, but for you" she said then a door to the right of them opened and a group of men carrying various weapons walked out and surround them.

Batman watched as Catwoman jumped up onto the railing above them and made her way back up to the roof but stayed around to watch what was about to happen. Batman turned his attention back to the group of thugs that were now surrounding him.

"Let's kill the son of a bitch" one of the thugs shouted and they came running towards Batman who stood ready for the incoming attack.

Batman was ready as he kicked the legs out from underneath the first thug then brought his elbow down on the thug's face knocking him out cold. He turned quickly in order to block an attack from another who had come at him with a steel pipe. Batman yanked the pipe out of the thug's hand then proceeded to smack the nearest thug in the side of the head with the pipe. Batman turned his attention next to the remaining eight thugs. He dropped the pipe to the ground and awaited the rush from the remaining thugs when he was suddenly struck from behind by an electoral shock sending him to the ground.

"That's just a taste of what's to come bat" came a man's voice from behind him. Batman turned his head to see a man standing before him wearing gauntlets that were giving off an electoral charge.

Batman recognized the man as Lester Buchinsky, a local thug for hire who had apparently gotten his hands on a pair gauntlets that gave him an edge. Batman tried to get up again but again Buchinsky struck him in the side of the head giving him a small shock knocking him back down to the ground.

"I'm-a kill you! Batman then I'm-a restart your heart then kill you again" Lester growled.

Catwoman watched from above as the remaining thugs and Buchinsky start beating Batman down. She didn't know why but she was starting to regret luring the Bat into the trap. She looked over to see Cobblepot making his way over to the edge of building to take in the scene with her. She saw the sadistic smirk on his lips and it made her sick to her stomach.

"He's beaten, that's good enough right?" she asked Cobblepot who let out a scoff at her question.

"Getting soft? You women and your hormones, must be your time of the month" Cobblepot spat at her.

Catwoman's eyes narrowed, her teeth clenched, her claws came out as she glared at the misogynistic, short, slimy, fat man standing beside her. She turned her attention back to the situation below. Cobblepot's words echoed in her mind then without warning or hesitation Catwoman spun on her heel and slashed Cobblepot straight across his left eye making the small man cry out in pain. She jumped down and landed on the railing then dropped down again striking Buchinksky across the side of the head with her knee making the bigger man stumble. She landed then made her way over to where Batman was lying on the ground, she pulled him to his feet.

"Don't make me regret this handsome" she whispered to him, then stepped behind him so they were standing back to back as they became surrounded by the thugs and Buchinsky.

Cobblepot who was holding his bleeding eye turned and watched as the Bat and the Cat began to work as one cohesive unit taking down any thug that came at them leaving only the two of them alone with Buchinsky. A pair of reptilian eyes appeared behind Cobblepot. He didn't need to turn around to know who was standing behind him.

"Change of plans. Kill the both of them and I'll double the pay" Cobblepot graveled out in anger.

Batman and Catwoman rushed towards Buchinsky. Batman dropped low going for a kick to Buchinsky's legs while Catwoman went high, but Buchinsky caught her by the leg and brought her down upon Batman who managed to catch her. _'This isn't working, we need a better plan'_ Batman thought to himself before turning to face Catwoman who was looking at him for plan. He gave her a look before pulling out his grapple gun and fired it. The cable wrapped around Buchinsky's legs then he pulled hard making the larger man stumble. Catwoman ran then leapt into the air kicking Buchinsky under the chin making the big man stumble backwards. Batman ran then jumped into the air and landed a hard right across Buchinsky's jaw knocking the big man out cold.

Batman stepped back away from the unconscious man then turned to Catwoman who looked at him with a small smile. He went to say something when suddenly a figure dropped down from the shadows above them. The figure ran and took Batman down with a head scissors like maneuver then rushed towards Catwoman, who pulled out her whip and tried to strike the mysterious attacker, but the figure effortlessly dodged the whip. She ran and jumped up, wrapping her legs around Catwoman's neck before slashing her across the cheek with her claws. The figure pushed off Catwoman and dropped to the ground. She rolled out of the way when Batman threw a Batarang at her.

"What did you do to her?" Batman growled as he rushed to the fallen Catwoman's side.

"I have killed her, and in a few minutes, her body will realize it" the figure replied with a Columbian accent.

Batman narrowed his eyes then pulled out a smoke pellet and smashed it on the ground, engulfing the area in smoke. He grabbed Catwoman around the waist then pulled out his grapple and fired it up into the air pulling them both to safety. Batman landed on the rooftop away from the attack. He laid Catwoman on the ground then pressed two fingers to her neck looking for a pulse. He found one but it was weak and was slowing down. He reached up and pressed a button on the side of his cowl.

"Lucius, I need an evac from my location, the cycle isn't going to work" Batman said.

" _ **I'll see what I can do"**_ Lucius replied.

"Hurry, there isn't going to be much time" Batman replied. He looked down at Catwoman and placed his hand on the side of her head making her look at him. "Stay with me" he said in a whisper.

 **Thanks for reading, drop a review letting me know what you all think.**

 **Up Next: Chapter 9- The Bat, The Cat and The Ugly.**


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